Lovely maid Yao
by chibi-starz
Summary: Gakuen!AU.Yao has a job that he would like to keep a secret from everyone. Unfortunately, soon, his job is not a secret anymore and there is a particular person who thinks that it is quite interesting… Rochu
1. Chapter 1

_**This is a little fanfic that I decided to start. I feel a little bad because I have already two other long fanfiction to complete, but this one isn't that long and it's something a little different.**_

_**The title might change if I ever think of a better one.**_

_**This was inspired from the anime Maid-sama, but just the concept, because this fanfic has his own story and if the story is similar to this anime, it's really a coincidence because I only saw the half of the first episode of Maid-sama lol xD!**_

_** To make it more clear, my fanfic does NOT follow the story of maid-sama, and don't expect it to follow the sotry of the anime, because it will NOT! ^^;  
><strong>_

_**Info about the story:**_

_**Pairing: Rochu (main), probably some mention of Dennor or Sufin (but that's not the main point ^^;).**_

_**Genre: Romance/Comedy**_

_**Warning: Gakuen!AU, on some occasions cursing , Yao being embarrassed (but just because he is cute when embarrassed, **__**not**__** for cruelty ^-^), cross-dressing, France being France and in later chapters some sexual references. In fact, the story **__**might**__** be rated M near the end (Who knows? Anyway I'll make a big warning when it happens). **_

_**If a sentence is in Italic, it means it's a thought.**_

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><p><em><strong>Lovely maid Yao!<strong>_

_**Chapter 1**_

Alfred walked through the streets, one hamburger in hand and a milkshake in the other.

Today was a pretty normal day. It was a nice Thursday afternoon and like usual, right after school; he bought a hamburger and a milkshake to help him relax from his awful endless day of school. This was for him, the best way to prepare mentally for tomorrow's endless day of torture, because for Alfred, everyday could be a torture day when it comes to school.

However, today was a little different from usual…

As Alfred walked in front of a certain café, he noticed someone a little familiar.

He stopped his walking and looked at the said person for a while. It took him several seconds to realise that it was indeed someone he knew…

"OMG!"He screamed at the realisation, spitting some of his milkshake.

Could this person be one of his classmates? Well if he wasn't; he sure looked a lot like him. However, the person was wearing a French maid dress and was serving. This was something that somehow didn't made sense to Alfred.

"YAO?" He shouted at the person in question. It didn't take long for the individual to turn his head to look at him.

Now, Alfred had the complete confirmation; it _**was**_ his classmate Wang Yao, and he was, definitely, wearing a French maid dress.

There were several minutes of (awkward) silence; the two stayed quiet for a long period of time. Alfred was trying to understand what in the world was happening and meanwhile, Yao didn't move; he was dying of embarrassment and was trying to find a way to avoid this situation.

"HA HA, Dude! What the hell are you doing there like this?" The American said laughing at the other, which didn't help Yao's embarrassment.

"I do not know who you are, stranger!" Yao quickly replied in hope that these lies would help him escape from this uncomfortable and embarrassing situation.

"Dude, I am not stupid! I know it's you! If it wasn't you, you wouldn't have looked when I called your name!"

_Damn it!_ Why was Alfred only using his logic when it wasn't the time?

"Aiyaa!" Yao complained, hiding his red face with his hands.

The Chinese had a feeling it was going to be the end of his life. Now Alfred was going to tell the school, his friends and who knows? Maybe this entire city will soon know that he works at a café and that he had to wear an outfit for women.

"So, you work here? Since when? I hope for you that they pay you double because you wear a dress. Ha ha ha!" Apparently, his American classmate thought that all this was a really funny topic, since he didn't stop laughing like an idiot.

"Listen! You have to keep this a secret from everyone aru!" Yao ordered him, with the sternest tone ever. The Chinese gripped the other's school uniform tie, hoping that Alfred would realise that he was really serious…and maybe with a little luck, he would be able to strangle the American. Alfred can't speak if he is dead, right?

"W-what?" The blond asked, astonished at the mention of the word "secret". He never was good at keeping secrets! **Never**!

"W-why would you keep that a secret? Ha ha ha! There is nothing to hide! There is nothing wrong with cross-dressing as a maid to work at a café. Ha ha ha!" He remarked nervously, now fully anxious.

"Aiyaa! If you open that damn mouth of yours, I swear, it's the last time you will be able to talk aru!" The Chinese warned. Obviously, this was only making Alfred even more anxious, instead of convincing him. Seeing that Alfred didn't seem reassured by all this threats, Yao had to admit that he choose the wrong way to convince his loud classmate.

"L-look, if you keep this a secret from the others I will offer you this cheesecake aru!"Yao said, finally calmly. He took a portion of cheesecake that was actually a leftover from a client and offered it to the American.

"Oh, Cake!"Alfred chimed like a kid. "I promise I'm going to keep this a secret!" He said happily taking the cheesecake.

Yao only _**hoped**_ that the American really meant it.

* * *

><p>"HEY GUYS! You'll never know what happened today Ha Ha Ha!" The American shouted all happy, showing the free cake he recently got.<p>

In the study room, the three other students didn't even move their eyes from their computer screen; it was the nicest way they found to show that they couldn't care less about what in the world Alfred had discovered.

"I was walking on the streets, when suddenly I found a café. And I got a free cheesecake!" The other continued proudly, oblivious to the fact that no one seemed to care.

"Now, I am not selfish. I am willing to share the cake with you guys. Each of you can have a small little piece. Except for the commie!" He exclaimed pointing his finger at a tall blond Russian.

"You have nothing! I know that you are insulting me!" Alfred added angrily.

"I don't care about your stupid cake da?" Ivan replied with a plain tone, not even bothering to look at the other. It's not like he would stop insulting Alfred only for a piece of cake, the American also insulted him more than once.

"Alfred, why in the world, would someone give you a free cake? Don't you think it's suspicious, idiot!" The British remarked. Arthur couldn't believe how careless this American could be. Who knows what could be in this cake!

"No! Don't worry; it's someone we all know that gave me the cake. I don't think it's suspicious. Ha Ha Ha." Alfred responded trying to find a knife in the room to cut the cake. For some reason, he didn't seem to realise that he was in a study room and not a kitchen.

"Who give it to you?" The French asked curiously, he didn't remember seeing a café around here. He was wondering if there were pretty girls working there.

"Yao." The blond American plainly answered unconsciously, still desperately trying to find a knife.

"Yao?"The three other blonds exclaimed with complete surprise. Even Ivan, who wasn't listening, completely stopped what he was doing to look at the other. None were expecting this answer.

"You mean Yao. Like Wang Yao?"Francis inquired again.

"Yes, he is working at the café. And you would never guess what? He is working there as a waitress, like wearing the maid dress and everything! HA HA HA! It's so funny!"The American admitted, completely forgetting about keeping it a secret.

For the first time in his life, Ivan was entirely interested in what Alfred was saying. So Yao, his big crush, was not only working as a waitress in a café, but was also wearing a maid outfit… That was something he _**needed**_ to see! Just picturing what his crush might look like wearing this outfit was completely melting his brain.

"Anyway, he gave me this cake, and in exchange I promised I would keep it a secret…"

And this is when the American finally realised that he already failed!

_Holy crap!_

"B-but nobody is going to talk about it, right? It's like going to be our secret, right?" Alfred asked sheepishly, hoping that Francis and Arthur would keep this a secret more than he did.

"Hon hon hon, of course. But tell me Al, where is actually this café you are talking about?" The French questioned. Things sure looked interesting and Francis was more than curious to see what Alfred just mentioned.

"Oh, it's right on the street where the Mc Donald is."

"I see~ I shall pass around there soon."The blond French promised to himself, having a very perverted smile.

However, his thoughts were completely interrupted when he heard the door of the room being harshly opened and closed, making a big loud noise. The only thing all of them saw, though, was a Russian hastily leaving the room.

* * *

><p><em><strong>It's not every day that a Rochu fanfic starts with America, right? xD <strong>_

_**I have the intention to make the chapters rather small like this (it's about 3-4 pages according to Microsoft Word).**_

_**I don't exactly know how often I will update this fic, since I also got others. Right now I am rather motivated, I guess it's because it's a change from the two others (and because I am keeping the chapters small).**_

_**So I thought that probably I could add a little chapter each week, I always wanted to do something like this and I think it is an opportunity to do it. Of course, it depends of how busy I am, so I will see about it. **_


	2. Chapter 2

**_PLEASE READ! Once again, just to make it clear (because I really had many comments concerning this) , this fanfic does NOT follow the story of Maid-sama, I was only inspired by the idea of the girl working as a maid at a café (and that's about all I can recall about this anime, since I only saw the first episode lol xD). So this is just a reminder, because I don't want people to expect it to be like this anime and to follow the same story, because it will definitely NOT. ^^; the only thing that will be similar is probably just the fact that Yao works as a maid at a café and that's really ALL. I pointed out at the beginning of the fanfic, but I guess I wasn't clear. Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this story nonetheless. ^-^_**

_**Thanks everyone for your encouragements, I really wasn't expecting so much reviews/alerts/faves, so early, thus I was surprised lol xD But more importantly, I was really happy to see that so many seemed interested in this story ^^**_

_**Thanks to that, I have the intention to add a new chapter each week. Probably on Mondays, but sometimes I can be really busy, so if I don't post on Mondays it will be added some days later in the week… **_

_**Hope you will enjoy ^-^  
><strong>_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 2<strong>_

Ivan was running on the streets. Where? He didn't exactly know. He was only trying to find the Mc Donald's in order to find the café. However, he didn't have a clue of where was the Mc Donald's, since he never been there.

Usually, the fast food wasn't that difficult to miss, because there was always a huge flashy yellow sign near it. But for some unfortunate reason, Ivan still haven't found the Mc Donald's or the café, and it already been several minutes that he was walking around.

Finally, he decided that it would probably be a bright idea to ask a passerby for the directions. After all, each wasted seconds were only making Ivan more eager to see his Yao in a dress and he couldn't wait anymore.

"Excuse me? Have you seen a café with a seductive person, wearing a French maid dress, working there, da?" Ivan asked to the first person he saw, oblivious that it was actually an itinerant.

"Hum…"The homeless stared blankly at Ivan.

While, Ivan was waiting patiently (to say the best) for the man to answer his question, the other man was actually more focus on something else.

"You seem like you have a lot of money, kid!" The man remarked, thinking about tricking the student.

"I asked you a question. Will you answer it?" Ivan inquired less politely, starting to get _really_ impatient.

He didn't have the time or the interest to start a conversation with the adult; Ivan only wanted to find the café to finally see Yao. He was in the middle of an emergency, and yet, this man still had the nerve to waste his time?

"Ha ha. See, if you give me some money, maybe I will help you find the place you are looking for, kid." The man continued, amused with the younger's comportment. Little did he know, he was probably doing the worst thing he ever done in his life.

"Kolkolkolkolkol~ you better answer me for free, before I beat you with this pipe and you'll have to pay for fixing your bones da?" The Russian answered with a dark tone, taking out his faucet pipe.

It didn't take long for the homeless to regret even thinking about having such plans; he quickly pointed his finger at the other side of the street where the café was. Seeing that Ivan seemed satisfied with this answer, the man rapidly ran away from the tall Russian.

Ivan couldn't care less that the other ran away, he was simply happy to finally have his answer.

He cheerfully ran toward the café and went inside, hoping that he was at the right place.

The café was very welcoming and…adorable?

There were a lot of pink and cute decorations almost everywhere; let's say it was more like a place, Ivan would typically see young girls coming than anyone else… But if it was true that his Yao in a maid outfit was working here, everything was worth it. In fact, his heart was almost skipping a beat, so much he was excited.

Since there was no one else in the café, the blond decided to sit at a table near the window.

Ivan took the time to look around and he realised there was indeed many girly things…

Why, in the world, would Yao work in such place?

He knew that the Chinese had a soft spot for cute stuff, such as Kitty-chan and other adorable characters, but this was somehow exaggerated. Ivan was truly starting to wonder if he was at the correct café.

Therefore, the Russian decided to stay there and wait for five minutes. If he wouldn't see Yao here in the next minutes, he would leave this place, never ever talk about this in his life and desperately continue his search for the right café.

Unfortunately, after the 30 seconds, Ivan was already losing hope, since the first waiter he saw wasn't even close to resemble Yao. He was seriously about to quickly leave this place…but, as soon as he got up to depart, his eyes finally saw the fabulous thing he impatiently wanted to see. At the other side of the café, near the kitchen, was Yao wearing a black French maid dress, so much for Ivan's delight.

At last, there was something _**really**_ cute and pretty for his eyes to see!

The Chinese was too much preoccupied cleaning and preparing a table to notice that Ivan, or simply someone, was here, though.

So, Ivan rapidly decided to sit back at the table, not leaving his eyes off Yao, and took this opportunity to completely admire his crush wearing this splendid outfit. He was entirely happy and amazed to see such a precious thing, not to mention that it was the first time he saw Yao with his hair untied.

Plus, he did notice that Yao's outfit was rather short… Ivan sure was expecting to see Yao in a dress; however, he didn't envisage that the maid outfit would actually reveal so much Yao's legs…

Now, Ivan had a feeling he would have to come here much more often~

* * *

><p><em><strong>And the fun for Ivan really starts here (and also the pain for Yao lol xD)<strong>_

_**I know that this chapter seems like there is no important or fun things that happen (especially compared to the first one), plus, it is kind of small. **_

_**However, I promise the next one will be better and longer ^^;**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**I needed a name for Denmark, because I don't intent to name him Dane every time in the story lol xD So I will call him Mathias, since it's a name I heard quite often for him in Fanfictions. My friend suggested to name him Danik (you know, **__**Dani**__**sh/**__**Dani**__**k ^^;;;)….but I'll go for Mathias…**_

_**I think I will also name Norway; Nicolai, for the same reason. I think the other name I heard for him in fanfiction is Erik (or something similar I believe), but I prefer the name Nicolai, I always liked this name for some reason, I think it's just so pretty ^^. **_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 3<strong>_

Deep in thought, Yao was peacefully cleaning and preparing a table. He was still worried with the fact that Alfred knew about his secret and as much as he would like to forget about it, he just couldn't. Somehow, he had a really bad feeling that the loud American wouldn't keep this a secret and that he wasted a perfectly good leftover of cake for nothing.

Plus, he felt like there was also a sudden eerie atmosphere here…

"Hey, do you think we can close early, today?" The Danish waiter rapidly asked Yao, starting to help him prepare the table. His question quickly snapped the other out of his thoughts.

"Aiyaa! I really don't think the manager will accept that aru!"Yao answered giving him a confused glare.

The Chinese really didn't understand his co-worker. Mathias always wanted to finish his job sooner than he was supposed to. No wonder why their manager wasn't content with the Dane's behaviour.

"Damn! I wanted to go home sooner today!"The blond complained.

Yao could only sigh. Why most of the westerners he met have to always have such odd comportment. He decided to ignore Mathias' plan to "escape" sooner from work and continued preparing the table, because the other waiter was far from preparing it the correct way they were supposed to.

However, Yao rapidly froze when he heard some weird, yet, familiar sound…

"kolkolkolkol~"

Thinking that it was really odd, he looked around him, but didn't saw anyone except for his co-worker.

Was he hearing stuff? Was his mind playing with him?

He could swear that it was the sound a familiar Russian that always stalked him everywhere made…

Could it be that…? No, it was impossible!

After all, it's only been less than thirty minutes that Alfred knew about his job here. So the possibilities of other people, such as a certain Russian, knowing about his secret work were still small. Unless, the American beat a new record in not keeping a secret, which was sadly something Yao could see happen.

However, even if it was possible, Alfred and Ivan hated each other and only talked to insult each other, so there was absolutely no chance that the Russian knew.

"Kolkolkolkolkol~"

But, he was still hearing this weird and creepy sound!

"Aiyaa, are you hearing something strange aru?" The Chinese finally asked to the other.

"What? No. I am hearing nothing strange." Mathias answered, a little puzzled with the random question.

Yao was so relieved! So it means that it was only his head hearing things...which wasn't normal actually… but, for now, it was better than being embarrassed again and, especially, better than meeting the guy who doesn't stop stalking him.

"Oh, now, I am hearing something strange! I think it's coming from that guy over there!"The blond soon added, noticing a person next to the window.

"W-what?" Yao slowly turned his head to where Mathias was looking, full of worries and hoping that it wasn't the person he thought it was.

Unfortunately, it was _exactly_ this person!

"Aiyaa!" He expressed, with a hint of anxious and shock.

Oh, no! It _**was**_ Ivan! That was so unfair! Why the universe just loved to torture him with embarrassment?

Yao looked at the Russian for a long moment; he was seeing him at the other side of the room, however, it seemed like his brain didn't want to believe in such tragedy.

On the other hand, Ivan was absolutely pleased to finally have Yao's attention all to himself. In fact, he was even gladder to see that his little Yao was staring at him with such interest… actually; Yao's expression was more one of complete bewilderment, but Ivan was way too happy to pay attention to this small detail.

The Russian waved at his crush and gave him a small wink, which didn't take long to flustered Yao.

"I think he is waiting for something."The Dane remarked, completely oblivious to what was truly happening between Yao and Ivan. Anyway, his comment, at least, woke the Chinese out of his shocked state.

"C-can you help him aru? I-I'll go check if the dishes are clean!" Yao asked suspiciously to his co-worker. He only wanted an excuse to not meet Ivan face to face. This plan probably wouldn't work for a long time, but it would give him some moment to think about how to escape from his Russian stalker.

"…Okay…"The other responded with hesitation. He was surprised of seeing the Asian suddenly look so anxious. Was there some trouble that he was supposed to know?

Mathias was really not convinced or reassured, especially after seeing how quickly Yao ran to the kitchen. However, he thought that as long as he doesn't have to face the anger of his manager, he would be fine. After all, what he did not know couldn't hurt him, right? So he walked slowly toward the costumer.

Meanwhile, Yao, who was still hiding in the kitchen, was spying the scene. He hoped that the blond waiter won't do something stupid…

From there, Yao could see everything. Apparently, Ivan's smile went rapidly away when he saw the Dane coming to serve him. The Chinese was expecting the Russian to be anger and insult or threat the waiter, but nothing of the sort happened.

In fact, now Ivan and Mathias seemed like they were having a conversation, and it didn't seem like it was about ordering food.

Mathias made a gesture sign to wait a minute to Ivan and hurriedly went away from the table. All this was only stressing and making Yao even more worried…

_Aiayaa, what is this idiot doing aru?_ Yao mentally panicked, perplexed with what Mathias was doing. To him all this seemed like a very bad sign.

"Hey, the guy wants you to serve him." The blond Dane said as soon as he arrived to the kitchen and saw Yao.

"What?" Yao asked in disbelief. Actually, he did not know why he was so surprised; he was sure a similar situation would happen sooner or later. "No! I am not going!"

"Eh? Why?" Mathias replied shocked to see the Asian acting like this. It was the first time he saw Yao protesting to accomplish his job. Since the day he started working at the café, Yao had always been a good worker.

"I-I think it's unfair for you aru! I mean, it's your job too, you need to work as much as me." The Chinese answered, hoping it would be a good excuse for his attitude.

"Oh it's kind of you, but it is really okay! I don't like to have a lot of work, anyway."

_Lazy Bastard!_ Yao cursed the other, giving him a glare.

"I don't care! I am not going to serve him aru!" The Chinese replied.

"…B-But, I don't think the manager will be happy to hear that you don't want to serve our customers."The Dane remarked completely confused with the other's attitude.

"Aiyaa! He's not a customer! He's a stalker aru! He doesn't stop following me everywhere, I am not serving him." Yao still protested.

"Well you don't have the choice. He demanded you and he said that if it wasn't you, he will have to talk to the manager…"Mathias pointed, pushing Yao out of the kitchen.

"What? NO!" Yao complained. Unfortunately, there wasn't much he could do.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Don't worry Yao and Ivan will officially and finally meet in the next chapter ;P (I know, it was about time…). <strong>_

_**On a side note, I didn't really had the chance to specify in this chapter, but Yao is the only (lucky) one that wears a French maid dress. So the others are wearing a normal waiter outfit for man. **_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

_Damn it!_

After all this work, Yao really didn't have any other choice but to go serve his stalker before the other decides to talk to the manager.

Taking all his courage, the Chinese slowly and unenthusiastically walked toward his customer. He absolutely wasn't looking forward to what would happen.

At the first second, Ivan saw the waiter; his bright smile quickly came back.

"Hello, Yao-Yao~"The Russian chimed with a sweet and dreamy tone. He was simply so happy to finally be able to see his crush this close.

"Hi! What do you want aru?"Yao asked with a complete stern voice. He really disliked how Ivan seemed to be so joyful to see him being embarrassed like this. The Asian didn't want to sound rude, but he wanted to end with this, soon.

"Ha ha, Yao-Yao, this is not the way to treat a customer da?" Ivan chuckled; he was quite amused to see Yao being flustered like that.

"Aiyaa! Who told you about this place aru?" Yao inquired harshly, deciding to ignore the other's comment.

"The American idiot!" Ivan answered plainly.

"AIYAAA!"

Yao knew it! He knew he shouldn't trust that darn big mouth of Alfred F. Jones. Not only, it meant that his social life will probably be hell from now on, but also, that he wasted a perfectly good leftover of cake for nothing! He should have strangled the American when he had the chance!

"I am going to kill him aru!"Yao muttered to himself.

On the other hand, Ivan couldn't stop laughing. He thought that this was pretty funny; it's not every day that he could see Yao be this anger, it was so cute.

"Why are you laughing?"The Chinese asked angrily at the other one. Right now, he was so frustrated that he couldn't see how someone was capable laugh in such situation.

"You are really cute in this outfit da?"Ivan remarked, not paying any attention to the other's question.

Yao gave Ivan a shocked expression; the Russian was looking at him intensely, and especially at his legs, with such a dreamy expression…

It almost looked like Ivan was undressing him with his eyes, which only made Yao shiver of awkwardness.

"A-Aiyaa! Stop looking at me this way!"Yao ordered to the other, blushing. He shyly tried to pull his short dress in hope to hide more his legs… which wasn't successful and only made Ivan chuckle more. The Chinese gave the blond a glare, but Ivan couldn't help but to still smile. It was stronger than him, Yao was just so cute. He only wished to take him and…

"Will you order something? Because if you don't, you should leave! Now!" The Asian harshly added, snapping Ivan out of his thoughts.

"Order?" Ivan repeated confused.

"Of course! Don't expect to stay here if you don't order something."

"Ha…" Ivan was so much more preoccupied with his Yao in a dress that he actually forgot that he was at a café.

He slowly took the small (and pink!) menu that was on the table to see what he could order to be able to stay here the longest time possible.

"Things are overpriced da?"He commented bluntly…was it bad that it was the first thing he noticed?

"They sure are aru!"Yao replied with a small smirk. Things sure weren't free here, which meant that Ivan couldn't afford to come much often. Yao was sure that the Russian didn't have the budget to come to this café daily.

"Hmm…." The tall blond still looked blankly at the menu. He didn't really feel like eating or drinking something, however, he wanted to stay there and still admire his Yao…maybe he should just order Yao?

"Aiyaa, why are you smiling again for?" The Asian commented with shock. There was absolutely no reason to smile like this while looking at the menu. He was sure Ivan was thinking about something suspicious, especially considering that the blond was having a somehow pervert smile.

"Nothing! Can I have a piece of chocolate cake and some coffee, please?"The other finally decided, trying to hide his smile.

The Chinese was surprised to see that Ivan was actually ordering something.

"It will be here soon aru."The waiter confirmed.

Finally, it was finished! Yao's moment of embarrassment came to an end! Now, He only needed to give Ivan what he ordered (in hope the other will pay for it) and then it will be the end. He couldn't wait to be at home, this day have been so awful for him.

"Wait! Yao-Yao!" Ivan called, before Yao could leave.

"What?"The other answered trying to remain calm. He wanted to leave! Why couldn't Ivan let him leave?

"You are my maid da?" The Russian inquired.

Well actually Yao was a waiter, but he also was truly tired and didn't have the energy to correct the other.

"Yeah…"Yao answered hesitantly. He would have to explain to Ivan that he was a waiter (and not a maid, despite what he looked like) another time, however, the Chinese did not understand why Ivan was asking such a question.

"Aren't you supposed to call me by a particular name that would make me feel important and precious da?"Ivan proposed with big grin.

"….What?" Yao questioned extremely puzzled.

"Can you call me master?"Ivan inquired like if it was very normal thing to ask.

There was a brief moment of silence where Yao was giving a dark glare to the Russian.

"I won't call you names aru." Yao answered clearly, noticing that Ivan was still waiting for an answer.

"Awww~ Please? I am your customer after all. It's your job to make me happy and to satisfy my needs da?"

Yao quickly blushed at the mention of the sentence… Was it only him, or was this sentence sounding somehow….dirty?

"Call me master da?"Ivan repeated again, seeing that Yao wasn't at all convinced. "Come on~"

"…." The Chinese remained silent and still glared at his costumer.

"Please?"

"…"

"Pretty please?"

"…"

"I'll give you a big big tip~" Ivan chimed, giving him a ten dollar bill. This only made Yao angrier. Did Ivan think he was a stripper or something?

"No!"The Asian snapped with frustration.

"Come on, say it…" Ivan begged with a sweet soft voice. Yao could swear that the blond sounded like a kid. It was such a cute voice that he was actually wondering if he was imagining stuff…

"…Or else I'll have to talk to your manager." …And for Yao, the cuteness was entirely gone.

"Aiyaa you wouldn't have?" Yao replied shocked with such things. "You are such a jerk aru!"

"Yao-Yao, I will be your ally if you call me by the name I asked you to call." Ivan mischievously reminded Yao. If kindness and politeness didn't work, there was always a place for threats.

Yao let go a huge sigh, he was really starting to hate this day.

"…Y-yes master."He said rather quietly, he made sure to avoid looking at Ivan, since his face was already completely red.

It was quiet, but Ivan was extremely happy to hear that. For some reason, he felt special and joyful, which he expressed with the biggest grin ever. I was official, for Ivan, this place was fabulous and this day was perfect.

"Pervert!"Yao muttered still angry with the other. He decided to leave rapidly, before Ivan would ask for another idiocy.

"Aww Yao-Yao, stay with me longer da? It's an order."Ivan said holding the other one by the arm.

"Aiyaa I don't have the time aru. I am here to work, not to talk!" Yao complained. He didn't want to stay longer; he wanted to get the hell out of here! He was more than tired of Ivan's orders; plus, he had much more important stuff to do. Yao was about to scold the Russian again but the voice of his co-worker interrupted his intention.

"Yao?"

"Yes?" The Chinese asked, not enthusiastic to hear what disaster Mathias had probably caused again.

"The manager said you can take your 30 minutes break."The Dane informed.

"…."

This Dane obviously had a very odd timing.

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><p><em><strong>I don't know how to say that but anyway! Probably, next week there will be no new chapter. I am really extremely busy for the next two weeks because of school. Plus, recently I feel depress, stressed and there are so many stuff happening in my life right now that I have no motivation nor time anything ^^; (let's all blame school!) <strong>_

_**However, I will continue to update this fic weekly in about two weeks. Who knows, maybe if I have some little time, I might update the next chapter, but I can't promise anything.**_

_**So, if I could ask for a favour from you guys, it would be to give me a review, please. Seriously, I think this is really what I need right now; encouragements xD. So if you could review, it would make me happy.**_

_**Thanks for everything~ =)**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Hey guys, sincere thanks for your patience and comprehension.^-^**_

_**And I would also like to thank you all for your encouragements and nice replies. It really helped me survived the awful and horrible two last weeks that I had! Right now, I feel a lot better =D It's a lot calmer right now in my life, though, I do have a particular class that I hate with a big big passion, unfortunately, I don't have the choice but to cope with it. Anyway, if, from now on, I post a new chapter a little later in the week, it will be because of that hateful class. But for now, let's not talk about it ^^;**_

_**So there is the new chapter, you guys really deserve it and I hope you will enjoy it!**_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 5<strong>_

Since Mathias told the Chinese about the break, there was an absolute silence…

In fact, the blond waiter was starting to wonder if something was wrong, or if the two other had some sort of stroke, because none of them seemed to move…but at least they were breathing!

Finally, after several seconds, Yao slowly and hesitantly turned his head to his customer and saw Ivan with the biggest smile ever.

"So it means you can stay and eat with me da?" The other remarked.

"A-aiyaa No!" Yao rapidly replied. All this seemed so suspicious!

"Don't you want to take the break before me aru?"Yao asked his co-worker. Mathias was always the first one to have a break, since the Dane started sooner than him, why was it different today? What kind of conspiracy was going on?

"Yeah…I usually would accept, but I broke the dishes….again…So I don't have any break today, the manager's orders ha ha …"The Dane answered sheepishly.

"B-but, if I go on break now, I can't bring him what he ordered aru! I think it is way more logical to serve him and go on break once he leaves!"The Asian suggested.

"I think it would be more logical to bring him his order when you go on break, since you will eat with him, right? I think it makes more sense like this!"The other said, completely unaware with the fact that Yao absolutely didn't want to have his break now.

"AIYAA!" The Chinese waiter complained, exasperated to see that his co-worker was as oblivious as some American he knew and was about to kill soon. Was Mathias doing on purpose? How much did Ivan pay him to agree with this plan?

"I'll be waiting for you, Yao-Yao~" Ivan chimed with a happy tone, only making the waiter even more frustrated. It was obviously _**not**_ his day.

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><p>"Here is your order!"Yao said, trying to sound as polite as he could. It was actually very difficult for him to be enthusiastic with anything that just happened today. He harshly put the small plate of cake on the table along with the coffee that Ivan asked.<p>

"You forgot to say master da?" The Russian reminded him, still having his pleasing smile.

"No, I am on a break aru! I am not forced to call you like this when I am on break." The other replied with a stern tone. Ivan should be considered lucky that he actually decided to sit with him at the table…not that he had the choice. Yao had a feeling Ivan would probably menace to talk to the manager again. Even if it wasn't the Russian's intention, Ivan was actually causing so much trouble to his crush.

"Anyway, thanks, my lovely Yao." The blond chimed with a smirk; which only made the other choke on the dumpling he was eating.

"Aiyaa! Do not call me like this!" The Chinese snapped, disliking how Ivan was being so informal with him.

"There are no rules about that~"

Yao sighed, sadly it was true, but it was still not a reason to be so casual with him. Just because they were eating together didn't mean they were dating…unlike what Ivan seemed to believe…

"Plus, you are indeed very lovely in this very pretty outfit da?" Of course, Ivan was looking at Yao's legs again; and the fact that the dress was revealing more skin because Yao was sit wasn't helping Ivan look away.

"Aiyaa. Stop looking, you pervert!"The Chinese commented, embarrassed with the other's rude behaviour. Yao quickly tried to cover his legs by pulling his dress, but it still didn't work. The Asian was in total agony about this; the complete opposite of the tall Russian who thought it was the luckiest day of his life.

"Yao, why are you doing this?" The blond asked, noticing that his crush was still desperately trying to hide his legs.

"What?" The other replied confused by what Ivan was talking about.

"Why are you working here if you don't feel comfortable? I never thought I would see you, one day, agreeing to wear such outfit that easily da?" Ivan remarked bluntly. Yao was surprised by how this seemed like a rather normal question…for once…

"_**Not**_ that I am complaining, of course~ kolkolkolkol~" The Russian quickly added, looking dreamily, yet perversely, again at the other's legs.

Yao let a huge sigh. When he thought Ivan could act normal. The Asian only wanted to eat in peace; it was his break after all! So, he decided to take his small vest and put it on his lap to cover his legs more. And he was relieved that it actually worked, probably now that the other would stop starring at his legs, he could have a casual conversation with Ivan. Though, the Russian was now pouting, giving him a sad and adorable look…

"W-well it's complicated aru."Yao finally answered, ignoring the other's cute look.

"Except for the outfit, it has a lot of positive. It really _really_ pays well and my manager is kind and understanding aru. My co-workers are also…well let's saying it could have been worst…" The Chinese added. "Plus, I need more money if I ever want to return back to China aru."

At the sound of this sentence, Ivan almost spit the entire sip of coffee that he was drinking.

"W-what? Return to China?"He asked utterly shocked, but trying to sound calm.

What was that? He didn't want Yao to return to China. That means that Yao would be far away from him, thus reducing his chances to be with him.

At last, Ivan found a place where he could spend time and see Yao almost every day outside of school and now the other wanted to return to a country that was so far from here? Maybe he could find a way to stop all the flights to China? There must one, right?

"Yes, for the summer holidays aru." Yao said, much more focused on his lunch to remark Ivan's completely worried expression.

And this little sentence left a huge weight out of Ivan. After all, he didn't need to find a way to stop all the flights to China; he was extremely relieved.

"I really long to visit my country again…It's been a while I didn't see my family and I miss them."Yao explained with a quiet voice. For some reason, recently the Chinese felt so homesick. He was used to be away from his home country and his family, while studying here. However, at the same time, he didn't stop thinking about his siblings and parents back home. It wasn't like he was lonely; he lived with his cousins Kiku and Yong, but somehow he really wanted to go back home. At least, to make sure his family was fine and healthy and to see them.

"…"

"You can understand too, right? Don't you also want to visit your home country again aru?"Yao inquired to the other, remembering that he wasn't the only one who was away from his home country.

Ivan nodded as an answer. To be honest he never thought of that. Sure he missed living in Russia, but he also had some bad memories of living there from his childhood that it never came to the thought of returning there for a vacation. It wasn't something he was against, though. Thinking about It, made him feel somehow nostalgic.

"I wish you luck and success with your plans, Yao, da?"The Russian added, raising his coffee cup to wish fortune to Yao and his plan. He was impressed to see that his crush was doing so many efforts to visit his native country. If Yao agreed to wear a dress (although, Ivan was thankful for that), it means that visiting China and seeing his family was really important for him.

"T-thank you aru."Yao stuttered, surprised to see the Russian wishing him luck with his plan. He wasn't expecting that, however he had to admit that he was grateful.

At the end, passing time with Ivan wasn't so bad…they managed to have a pretty normal conversation. Plus, Ivan kept his eyes away from the other's legs, which also helped.

"'My break is already ending aru."Yao remarked looking at the clock.

"Aww, so soon?"Ivan whined. It was true; time only passed fast when one didn't want. "Well, I guess I'll see you in a couple of minutes da?"He pointed, with a smile.

"Yeah…"

Yao gave the other a small smile and left the table, however, it didn't take much long for his customer to call him again.

"Yao-Yao!"

"What?"

"Don't forget to call me master when you come back~"Ivan reminded the other with a mischievous smile.

"Aiyaaa!"

Exactly when he thought that Ivan wasn't that bad!

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><p><em><strong>So this was supposed to be the chapter of last week, I will see if I can update the chapter of this week in a couple of days or anyway before next Monday ^^;<br>**_

_**By the way, I would like to answer the anon who is named D, I don't know if he/she will read it, but anyway, if I never try I'll never know lol xD I would like to thank you for always giving me nice comments and encouragements, it means a lot and I really appreciate it! =D Thank you~**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Sorry, I said I would post this chapter before Monday, but I failed x,D However, since I am on my March/Spring Break, so I will make sure to post another chapter this week =) **_

_**Hope you guys enjoy~**_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 6<strong>_

After a few minutes, Yao came back with the bill, hoping that Ivan will be able to pay it without problems. He really hoped his client wouldn't ask him to let it for free or promising to owe him anything.

Thankfully, it wasn't that pricey since Ivan only ordered two items. However, he had to admit that for only two items, things were sort of overpriced at this café.

"Here you go aru."He said, slowly giving the bill to the blond

"Yao-Yao you forgot something~" The other reminded.

"Aiyaa…." Of course Yao knew what it was; he only hoped the Russian would forget about it. Apparently, Ivan had a good memory for the things he wanted.

"…Master…"The Chinese muttered quietly, it was rapidly followed by a chuckle coming from Ivan.

Really? Did Ivan have to giggle like this every time? It was just making Yao more uncomfortable.

"How will you pay it?"Yao asked, trying to change the subject.

"I think I have enough to pay it cash." Ivan answered taking his wallet.

"You can leave it on the table aru. I'll come to take it after I bring the dishes to the kitchen."The waiter explained, taking the plate and the coffee mug from the table.

"What? You won't tell me goodbye and escort me to the exit?"The Russian whined with a sad expression.

What was he? A kid? Anyway, Ivan sure acted like one. Yao let a huge desperate sigh.

"Thanks for coming here and I hope you will have a nice evening, master, aru."The Asian told Ivan, while avoiding looking directly at him.

Well, Ivan was surprised. Yao called him master without he needed to demand it! Things were getting better and better.

"O-okay, now I will have to go aru."Yao said slowly going away. The gaze that Ivan was giving him was starting to make him feel sort of awkward.

"Thank you, Yao-Yao. Have a nice evening da?"Ivan replied, waving at his crush.

"Bye."

At the first second Yao arrived at the kitchen, he quickly looked if his customer was really leaving the place. He saw Ivan paying his bill (thanks God, he was paying the bill!) and soon, the Russian left the café.

"He finally left!"Yao exclaimed relieved, once he made sure Ivan was out of the café.

"Why do you seem so relieved? You looked quite happy while talking to him."Mathias remarked, quickly pretending that he was cleaning the dishes since the moment Yao entered the kitchen. If the Asian knew that he was actually playing with his cell phone all this time instead of doing his work, he would probably pay a lot for it.

"NO, I DID NOT ARU!"The Chinese shouted at the blond Nordic.

"...Okay…"Mathias slowly replied, not sure of what to think or say about Yao's sudden scream.

"I'm happy that he is gone aru! Good riddance. He was really annoying!"Yao complained.

Though, to Mathias, Yao really didn't seemed that annoyed by his last customer… but if it was something Yao wanted to believe, so it would be.

Eventually, both of them went to the table to clean and prepare it, and Mathias realised that his co-worker forgot to take the money Ivan left on the table.

"Wow!"The Dane expressed, completely shocked.

"What?"

"I don't think, you will find him this annoying after seeing this!"The Nordic said showing him the money Ivan left.

"Aiyaa what?"

Yao couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing. Ivan left him a 20$ tip! That guy was insane or what? When Yao thought that Ivan couldn't even pay for his bill, the other gave him 20$ of tip?

"Oooh~ seems like he really liked your services! Ha ha!"The Dane laughed, giving the Asian a nudge.

"W-what? N-no! Stop saying foolishness aru!"Yao replied, embarrassed to hear this.

"Yeah, you are right. He probably liked _you_ a lot more than your service."The other added with a small grin.

"What? J-j-just shut up!"

"You are so lucky! My boyfriend doesn't even give me half when I serve him…" Mathias complained with a weak smile. Well actually his boyfriend didn't even give him a tip. Nicolai always said that it was only fair since Mathias owned him some money…it was really sad, now that he thought about it…

"He is **NOT** my boyfriend!"Yao shouted rapidly, blushing. "What should I do? I can't accept this!"Unlike the blond who seemed pretty full of energy, Yao wasn't. He actually was worried; he never got a tip higher than 5$. To him this was crazy. He didn't even know if he was allowed to accept such things.

"Of course you can! It's yours, he gave it to you! He even wrote it down. Keep it! I am sure he knew what he was doing." The blond explained, showing the other the paper bill Ivan signed that confirmed he gave Yao 20$.

However, this was exactly what Yao was worried about. The Chinese was absolutely sure Ivan didn't know what he was doing!

"Aiyaa, I don't know what to do aru."

"Well, if you don't want to keep it, and if it helps, I can take it." Mathias suggested sheepishly.

Yao gave him one big glare, making the Dane back away rapidly.

"It was just a suggestion, don't look at me like this!"

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><p><em><strong>This chapter is quite small, but the next one will be longer, I can assure you =)<strong>_

_**Also, to anon D, I'm sorry to have taken you aback last time, I really didn't want to x,D It's just that it's difficult to reply to anons, and I hope it didn't trouble you ^^; I just really wanted to thank you for your nice comments and to say that I really appreciate them x,D Ha ha and don't worry I didn't find your reviews stalkerfish xD**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7**_

It was almost 8 pm, and it was also almost time for Yao to close the café.

He was always the last one to leave the place, because his shift ended up at 8. Not surprising, since Mathias never wanted to stay till the end…

However, as strange as it sounded, he liked to close, it didn't bother him.

After 7, almost no one came, so it was always quiet and sometimes Yao used this opportunity to finish his homework before starting to clean the place.

When he finally closed the café and locked the door, he realised that it was raining outside. That was something he didn't notice until now, it must explain why there were fewer clients than usual.

"Oh no, I forgot my umbrella aru!"He slowly complained to himself. This morning, he put his umbrella right next to his school bag to not forget…and yet he still forgot.

It really wasn't his day…

"Here, my lovely Yao~" A tall Russian said, covering the other with an umbrella to protect him from the rain.

"Thank you." Yao automatically replied, before realising that Ivan was still here…

"AIYAA!" The Chinese quickly backed away, surprised to see the familiar Russian. What in the world was Ivan still doing here at this hour?

"Aww you are not wearing your maid outfit anymore?"The blond whined, with a disappointed look, completely ignoring Yao's shocked expression.

"What the hell are you doing here?"The Chinese asked still surprised.

"I came to walk you home da?"

"W-what? I don't need you to walk me home. I am fine by myself aru."The other replied frustrated by the remark. Ivan was talking like if he was defenceless, which was definitely not the case.

"Nyet! It's dangerous da? Plus, I am already here, so it doesn't matter."Ivan answered, approaching Yao again to protect him from the rain.

"There is absolutely nothing dangerous aru!"Yao remarked.

However, he quickly felt some cold hands on his shoulder. What was Ivan planning again? Yao was about to snap at the Russian, but then he realised that it was actually impossible that those hands belonged to Ivan; the tall blond was facing him and was holding the umbrella.

"E-excuse me sir…"

"AIYAAAA!"

At the sound of the extremely weird voice, Yao backed away from whoever in the world was touching him. Unconsciously, he came closer to Ivan and gripped his arm.

After several seconds, the Chinese realised that the person was in fact a homeless man.

"…Sorry, do you have some money?"The man inquired like if it was a usual thing to ask. Yao couldn't believe that this creepy man almost gave him a heart attack for such a question.

"Hey, it's the smelly man from earlier da?"Ivan remarked, remembering the man who "helped" him found the café earlier. It seemed like the homeless man also remembered Ivan very well…

"HAAAAAAA! It's _you_!" The man screamed with a very high pitched voice. In less than a second, the homeless ran away in fear, still shrieking.

"What a...Why did he run away aru? What have you done Ivan?" The Chinese asked, not understanding what just happened.

"Protect you! And you said there weren't any danger."The Russian commented. Thanks God, he was there to save Yao from this homeless person! Who knows what that creep could have done to his little sunflower.

"There aren't. He only asked for money aru. He didn't even threat me. If he had, I would have kicked him aru!"Yao replied. He wasn't naïve, he knew that they could have been chances that the man was holding a weapon, but it wasn't something he couldn't take care of. After all, Yao wasn't an expert in art martial for nothing!

"Is this why you are still gripping my arm da?" The blond chimed actually pleased to see that Yao automatically seek him for protection. Rapidly, the Asian realised that it was indeed true, as mush ashamed as he was now to face it.

"I-I-I did not grip on you!" Yao stuttered while blushing; he quickly let go of the other's arm. "T-that man only really surprised me aru!"

"Of course Yao." Ivan commented sarcastically, his little Yao was indeed very funny. Though, the Russian was now disappointed that Yao let go of his arm…he really shouldn't have pointed out. They should have stayed like this until he would bring him home.

"It's true!"The other said, unsatisfied with Ivan's amused smile. "Like I said, I don't need your help aru! Plus, don't tell me you stayed outside of the café all this time since you went out?" He added.

"Da!"

"AIYAA, what is wrong with you?"

"Yao-Yao I will never leave you alone with this Dane da? Kolkolkolkolkol~" Ivan said with a hint of jealousy. He didn't know that guy enough to be sure he wasn't competition, though the Russian was quite happy when he saw that the Dane ran away from his workplace once he finished his shift.

"What? You mean Mathias?"

"He is stupid to leave you alone at night in such a dangerous place."Ivan added, not losing this opportunity to make Mathias look like a bad person.

"It's not dangerous aru! And he finishes earlier than me, what do you expect? It's not the first time I walk home at this hour and nothing ever happened. So return home! Now!" Yao complained not liking Ivan's protective comportment toward him.

"But wouldn't it be more advantageous if we go home together da? I could bring you home with my umbrella!" Ivan offered the umbrella, coming even closer to his crush.

" I guess…"The Chinese sighed. He had to admit that he could need an umbrella.

"So where is your house my lovely Yao?" Ivan asked, taking Yao's answer as an absolute "yes".

"Stop calling me like this!"

Seriously, Ivan was really starting to be too friendly. However, Yao had to admit that he was grateful that the Russian offered him to share the umbrella. It was a kind gesture. Although, it was still foolish of him staying this late for that!

"Your family must be worried that you are not home at this hour!" Yao finally pointed out.

"Of course not. My family doesn't care." Ivan answered.

What? That was sad! What kind of family was that? But what surprised Yao more was that Ivan said that like if it was a plain normal thing, still having his usual smile. The Chinese decided to assume that Ivan was probably exaggerating.

"So where is your house? Is it far from here?" The blond asked again. He was leading the way, but he didn't have a clue of where he was supposed to go...

"Actually, it's an apartment aru. It's near here." Yao informed pointing the street. He slowly realised that telling his stalker where he lived wasn't probably the greatest idea. Now, he had a feeling that Ivan would stalk him to his apartment every day. But at least, Ivan didn't know where exactly in the building he lived, so he was saved.

"An apartment da? It seems nice! On which floor do you live?" Ivan asked, trying to sound causal.

Really? Didn't Ivan thought he was really pushing his luck too much already?

"I-It's not important. Do _**you**_ live far from here aru?" Yao said, hoping to avoid giving a specific answer.

"It depends of your definition of far."

Such a weird and unclear answer… the smaller one was about to ask for more, but he noticed that he finally arrived home.

"It's here!" He exclaimed, slowly approaching the building's entrance.

So Yao was right, it was pretty close to the café, and also close to their school. Ivan took a good look at the building; it seemed so fancy and pretty. The entrance of the building was welcoming; he could bet that Yao's home was a truly pleasant place.

"See! Nothing would have happened!" Yao remarked, snapping Ivan out of his thoughts.

The other only shrugged; it wasn't like it was a pain bringing Yao here. In fact, he enjoyed this little walk alone with his crush.

"A-anyway thank you for the umbrella aru." The Chinese muttered, looking at Ivan's eyes.

The Russian couldn't help but to notice that Yao came closer to him. Maybe he will receive a kiss? He hoped so; he sure deserved one!

"Good night!" The Asian simply said, before leaving to go open the door of the building.

Aww, he did not receive a kiss…false hopes really did hurt.

"Good night Yao-Yao~" Ivan still said with a smile, waving.

Before entering the building, Yao waved back at the Russian and gave him a small smile.

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><p><em><strong>By the way, just to inform, I do have the intention to officially rate this fanfic M near the end (I guess you have an idea of why….). I thought I should just make a small warning just to give a little notice, like this people won't be extremely surprised when it happen ^^; Anyway, when it happen I'll make a big warning before the chapter.<strong>_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Hey guys, sorry about updating nothing last week =c **_

_**Recently, my computer is acting pretty strange and I don't know what was going on with him, but I am just glad that I didn't lose anything x,D **_

_**Anyway, before anything else, I want to thank you guys for the 30+ reviews =D I really don't know how to thank you all, but I am really grateful =,) It means a lot to me~ uwu **_

_**(P.S. remember Nicolai is Norway's name c= )**_

_**(hmm, for some reason, I posted this chapter but fanfiction didn't updated it when I did, which is really strange =/ hope it works eventually)**_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 8<strong>_

Yao was so cheerful, it was Monday and nobody he knew came since Thursday.

Ivan didn't come back, as much as it surprised him. So maybe he was right; the Russian didn't have the budget to come to this café daily, and especially not considering the amount of tip he gave him last time. It also really relieved him that he didn't see Ivan stalking him to his home during the weekend.

Probably, his life could come back to be "ordinary" like it was before a certain American decided to open his big mouth.

Therefore, the Chinese couldn't help but to think that today would be a splendid day. The weather was perfect and he finished school early. Plus, on Mondays, Nicolai was the one working instead of Mathias; so things were a lot more organised and calmer at the café.

For some reason, when he was working with the serious Norwegian his work made more sense; which was the complete opposite of when Mathias is working…

"Yao, there is a customer. Can you go?" Nicolai asked with his usual monotone voice.

"Sure."

The Asian was in such a sincere good mood, this day couldn't be better...

"Hello, what can I serve you today?"Yao asked with a joyful tone to his customer, not actually paying attention to who it was.

"Hi, my little Yao-Yao!"

…Of course, his day could also certainly be worse…

"…"

The waiter looked at his client for a long moment and realised that it was indeed his stalker; the one and only Ivan Braginski.

"You seem really happy today ~" The blond remarked. He was really amazed that in a matter of a couple of days, Yao's welcoming was much more warming comparing to the last time. Yao sure was a hard worker.

"AIYAA! You again?"

"Sure~ Did you thought I would forget about this splendid place so easily, da?" The other inquired with a big smile.

"But you didn't even come these last days, aru!"

"Aww Yao-Yao counted the days I didn't come?" Ivan asked, really interested to hear this.

"Aiyaa No!" Yao protested, his cheeks starting to blush. Seriously, Ivan always had the weirdest believes when it came to him.

"Don't worry, Yao, I just had a lot of stuff to do this week end. I will come to see you everyday~ It's a promise~" The Russian chimed.

_Oh, dear lord, no!_ This was awful! Why such horrible things only happened to him?

At this moment, Yao thought that nothing in the world could be as disastrous as Ivan coming here every day. So from now on, each day, he would have to endure this Russian who wouldn't stop staring at him and force Yao to call him master every time.

Did the universe hated him for some reason?

"So can my lovely maid bring me some coffee, da?"Ivan ordered, completely oblivious to his waiter's alarmed expression.

However, while Yao was panicking and thinking that nothing could be worse than what he was going to suffer, he heard some other familiar and rather loud voices….

He slowly turned his head to realise…that indeed the universe really hated him!

"Hon Hon~ I think I am going to like this place~" A familiar French blond along with three other people, whom Yao certainly recognised, were at the café's entrance.

"Ha ha ha! The stuff here is so girly!" The American said sheepishly, laughing and pointing at the decorations.

From the three students, the French seemed to be the only one who found this place quite interesting, unlike Alfred who didn't stop laughing and Arthur who seemed perplexed and confused by all the decorations.

_Crap! _

"Ivan! Why did you brought those idiots here?" The waiter screamed at the tall blond.

"I did not Yao. I didn't tell anyone about this place."Ivan defended himself.

"Really?"

"Yes. Why would I tell any of those idiots about coming here?"

Ivan sure wanted to keep this heaven for himself and _only_ him. However, now he was actually thinking about having a little talk with those idiots who would probably bother his nice moment with Yao.

"Hey, can someone take our order here?" The loud voice, that Yao recognised as Alfred's, asked quite noisily.

"Aiyaa…."Yao complained. Nicolai was still cleaning the dishes, so he didn't have any other choice but to serve them!

Slowly, the Asian walked toward his doom like if he was going to die.

"Hon hon, look! We have such a pretty waitress to serve us, we are so lucky!" Francis quickly said once he saw that their waiter was none other than their classmate.

"Hey, who are you calling a waitress aru?"Yao shouted angrily. Alas, he was quickly blinded because of the photo's flash that Francis was taking of him.

"Aiyaa! No!" The Chinese tried to stop the other before Francis could continue to take more pictures of him. Unluckily, he couldn't be sure if it worked or not, since his pervert classmate was giving him a sly grin. The last thing he wanted now was that people had evidences of him wearing a dress.

Yao could only give a very murderous glare to the French, hoping that this wouldn't happen again.

"What do you guys want?"He finally asked quite rudely.

"Wow, I do not think this is the way to greet a customer!"Alfred commented, thinking that the tone of their waiter sounded pretty rude.

"_YOU!_"Yao snapped pointing the American. It was Alfred's entire fault that all these embarrassing things were happening to him. He just wanted to punch this American right now. Unfortunately, he couldn't since he was at work and there was that (stupid) rule which forbidden them to hurt the customers.

"You are very lucky that the only knifes we have are butter knifes or else you would have been in the hospital already aru!" The Chinese menaced the other, giving him a glare.

"Hey!"Alfred replied quite scared with this threat. Now, he was absolutely sure that this wasn't a way to treat costumers.

"Dude! You don't know what kind of torture I went through with those guys! It's their entire fault! They didn't stop harassing me to know where the cheesecake came from!" The American whined, accusing the two other blonds.

"Yes. We simply asked him where he got the cake. We are such horrible and cruel people."Arthur explained sarcastically.

So this was why Alfred told them the secret? This was really pathetic… Yao gave a last death stare to the American which the other answered with an uncomfortable and sheepish smile.

"You don't need to act like this, mon ami~ We promise to not tell anyone about this. We'll even make sure that Al shuts his mouth." Francis reassured his dark haired classmate.

"R-really?"This sentence somehow calmed the Chinese a little.

"Yes!" All the three blonds nodded, promising his classmate to keep this a secret.

"Did you think we were that awful?"

Actually…yes, this was what he originally thought. But, seeing that the three seemed quite serious, it relieved Yao. Now, the Asian felt bad for overacting like this…However, he couldn't help but to think it was way too easy and simple...

"Okay, now that this is settled, I have to say that….you didn't present yourself! What is your name?"Francis inquired with a mischievous smile.

"A good waiter presents himself!" Arthur remarked, seemingly joining Francis in his scheme to annoy Yao.

"Yes, you should tell us your name!"Alfred added, thinking that this seemed pretty fun.

Yao _knew_ it couldn't be this easy! Even though, they promised to not tell anyone else about his job, they were still willing to embarrass him.

"You all know what my name is aru!"Yao snapped, frustrated by those annoying westerners.

"Hmm. Our waiter sure is moody."

Yao let a huge sigh. He was actually in a very good mood before he met them…

"My name is Yao. I will be your waiter for today. May I take your order?"He finally said unenthusiastically.

"I'm going to take a coffee!" The American said loudly.

"I don't know what to take, do you recommend something?" Francis asked still having his usual smirk.

"No, I don't!" Yao replied bluntly, wanting to finish with this order soon."And what do you want?" He quickly asked to the last one, preventing Francis to speak again.

"I want a green tea with a cheesecake."The British confirmed.

"I want a cheesecake too!"The American screamed rapidly. He almost forgot the only good reason he came here for; to eat the _so_ delicious cheesecake. How could he forget such a thing?

"Your order will be there soon."Yao sighed.

"Wait!"The American screamed again, before the waiter could go away.

"What?" The other replied bitterly.

"I am pretty sure that you should bring us a cake with candles, because I believe it is our birthday today!"Alfred confirmed with the happiest expression ever.

"Hon hon hon! That's right, I believe it is!"Francis agreed giving the two other blonds a wink.

"Ha ha ha ha! And you should sing!"

"AIYAAA! Today is not your birthday aru! It is impossible that the three of you have a birthday on the same day aru!" Yao completely didn't know when their birthdays were, but he was absolutely sure it _wasn't_ today!

"Everything is possible in this world!Come on less complaining, more serving!"

"Aiyaa!"

From far away, Ivan was observing quietly the scene. He only could hear screams, yells and complains, but there is one thing he could be sure of; Yao really didn't seem happy.

Of course, Ivan was expecting that his crush wouldn't be content about that, but he was relieved and glad that he was the only one, until now, who Yao served with a nice warming smile.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yao has such wonderful friends xD But I think we all have those kind of friends, or at least acquaintances, who just like to embarrass and annoy you lol xD <strong>_

_**A little lack of Rochu time in this chapter (I know it's sad =,c ), but It has to be done for the story to progress x,D Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter nonetheless.**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Lol last week fanfiction didn't want to update my fanfic ^^; I hope the same thing won't happen again and I'm sorry if it spammed you like 5 alerts that the last chapter was updated (I also got them lol x,D). **_

_**I have to say, I had some difficulties with writing these days…I don't know why x,D (maybe a somehow writer curse?). So it took me some time to write this chapter ^^; **_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 9 <strong>_

Yao could only think of a word to describe this situation; ridiculous! This was _really_ ridiculous!

He had to admit that he never thought of one day seeing three, almost adult, students sitting at a table, playing with the pink and cute decorations, while making a lot of noises and screams like if they were 5 years old.

With how noisy and how obnoxious they were, there was no need to say that these westerners were indeed the center of attention at the café. Nonetheless, Yao was embarrassed that he actually knew these people…

"Yao, could you tell those kids to make less noise." His Norwegian co-worker, who was still cleaning the dishes in the kitchen, asked.

_They aren't kids, aru… _

"Y-yeah, I'll see what I can do…" The Chinese replied half-exasperate with this situation. He could notice a stare of confusion coming from Nicolai because of how strange his tone was, but he decided to ignore it. After all, he didn't have the choice but to cope with all this.

Rapidly, the Chinese waiter headed to his other less annoying client. With the entire crazy situation that he was handling, he almost forgot about Ivan…something that he shouldn't really tell him… Yao could see his stalker who quickly beamed a smile as soon as their eyes meet.

"Here you go aru." Yao said giving Ivan his coffee, with no energy. Compared to the three others, Ivan was so quiet and calm. Now, he couldn't believe how much only Ivan knowing about his secret was okay…

"He he, Yao you seem so tired da?" Ivan remarked with a small chuckle. Clearly, he knew why Yao was this exhausted, but he absolutely wanted to have a conversation with his waiter. The three idiots were entirely stealing Yao's intention away from him and he was seriously starting to be a _little_ jealous. However, he was still happy to see that his little sunflower hasn't forgotten about him.

"You don't know how much this is true."The Asian complained with a clear fatigued tone.

"I know how to get rid of them~" The Russian whispered to the other.

"Really?"Yao asked with a small hint of curiosity.

"Da! Poison their food."

Yao let a small sigh. If he could, he would have done it a long time ago.

"I don't think it's a realisable solution aru."The waiter replied. He didn't want to show how much he actually agreed with Ivan's plan. Of course, he would never do this, but thinking about it sure calmed him a little.

"Why? I am sure nobody will notice they are gone. Plus, no one will suspect you da?"

For the first time in the last couple of minutes, a small smile appeared on Yao's face. He didn't know if it was because he was extremely tired, but this small talk with Ivan was actually making him feel better.

"Why are you alone here aru?" Yao finally inquired, noticing that Ivan was at a table that was quite far from their group of classmates.

"It's okay, Yao. I prefer to pretend I do not know those people." The Russian answered with a smile.

Well, Yao couldn't blame him actually. It seemed peaceful here compared to where the three others were…

"You are really lucky…."

Yao was about to continue his conversation with Ivan, however some loud person completely ruined it.

"HEY! WAITER! Can I have another piece of cheesecake!" Alfred screamed from the other side of the room, making everyone look at him.

Fortunately, the American quiet down when he noticed the death glares that came from both Ivan and Yao.

"Please?"He quickly added sheepishly, thinking that he was receiving these glares because he forgot to be "polite" and say please.

"Hon hon, Al this is not the way a gentlemen treats such a pretty waiter." Francis said, giving a wink to Yao.

_Don't punch the clients! Never punch the clients! If I punch the client, I will be in big trouble aru._ The Asian told himself trying to help him remain calm.

"I-Is there something else you guys want from me before I go." Yao asked, forcing himself to show a big, yet fake, smile.

"Hon hon, maybe a quicky?" The French inquired giving the Asian a rather pervert smile.

"WHAT?" Yao screamed, repulsed.

"Ha ha, I was only joking." Francis remarked laughing at the other's expression.

"AIYAA, you bastard aru!" Yao snapped. He really was about to punch this damn French.

"Come on, you know he would ask something like this sooner or later. You act like you have the worst job ever!"The British complained, thinking that Yao was overacting. Unlike the Chinese, Arthur had to endure such things almost every day and the Asian was making a big deal about it for barely 1 hour.

Yao gave a death glare to the British. That guy wasn't the one who had to wear a maid outfit; so his opinion on his work was completely worthless.

"Yeah, I was wondering, how did you get this job? Did you like came here and ask to be a waiter, but they only needed a woman, so they accepted since you look like one?"The American suddenly asked, entirely oblivious to Yao's murdering temper.

"That seems legit!"

"At this point, you should have just worked at Mc Donald's, ha ha ha!"

"Guess he likes wearing a dress after all…"

_Those bastards aru!_

Apparently all the three found that this scenario was incredibly funny….Of course, this was the opposite for Yao who never felt this insulted in his life. Now, the food poisoning plan didn't seem that farfetched in Yao's mind.

"Aiyaa, laugh all you want aru. I make much more money one day here, than you would do if you worked for a week at Mc Donald's." Yao said bitterly, deciding to ignore them and continue to do his work. After all, they weren't worth his time.

"WOW!"All the other said completely astonished, even Arthur seemed impressed by this fact.

"W-what really? L-like how much? Is it really much?"The British asked, suddenly interested.

"Do you make more than a doctor?" Alfred asked, also shocked to hear that.

"What kind of question is that aru?" Yao inquired, not really surprised by the American's weird question.

"Do they still need waiters…I mean without the dress?"Arthur questioned again, trying to make it sound like a casual question.

What did this British thought? Did he think he choose to wear this a dress on purpose?

"No."Yao bluntly responded. It was funny that now, everyone seemed to respect his work.

"…"

"Artie, dude, are you thinking about also work here as a waitress ha ha ha!"Alfred suddenly asked, seeing that the British seemed deep in thoughts.

"What? No!" The other replied his face quickly red.

"Hon Hon, I think Yao wouldn't be the only one who would look good in a dress."The French said giving the other a flirt-ish smile.

"SHUT UP, You French Frog!"

"Don't worry Arthur, as a friend I will visit you everyday fu fu fu!"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!"

"Yao, we demand a job assignment paper for Arti!Ha ha ha!"

"WHAT NOOO!"

And yet another scream fight started between them…

"When will it end…"Yao sighed to himself, now completely weary.

"Yao-Yao can I have another coffee please, da?"

The Asian, surprised, turned around to see that Ivan was right next to him. How long has he been there?

"Aiyaa! Stop scaring me like that aru!"

"You seem overcharged so I thought I would come to see you da?" He said slightly giving a bitter glare to the three other blonds.

"Hey, Ivan you are here too?" Francis greeted.

"What? What is this fat commie doing here?" the American said, finally realising that Ivan was here too.

"Who are you calling fat da? Kolkokolkolkolkol"

"Aiyaa…"

It looked like Yao's day was going to get even more complicated.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Another chapter that didn't have much of Rochu, but I promise that the next chapter it will be the usual Rochuness (You can believe me, I am not a politician, so I won't promise you stuff that I don't intent to do xD). But, at least it has more Rochu moments than the other one ^^;<br>**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10**_

At long last, after hearing Arthur complain about everything there was to complain about, seeing Francis flirt with just anyone that appeared in front of him and after he stopped countless of fights between Alfred and Ivan, the three annoying westerners _**finally**_ went away.

It sure was a very long day for Yao and he promised to never complain about having difficult days, because this one was really awful.

Now, the Chinese only wanted to close the café and go home. After all, he was the one who closed again and there were only a couple of minutes left until it was 8 pm. However, he wasn't allowed to close the café if there was still a client…and unfortunately, there was still one person…

"Ivan, can you please get out aru? I want to close the café." Yao asked to his stalker, giving the other his bill. The blond was still at his usual table next to the window, finishing drinking his coffee. The Chinese wondered how in the world that Russian would be able to sleep with all the coffee he drunk today.

"Aww, but Yao-Yao, we didn't spend much time together today da?" Ivan remarked with a sad tone.

"Aiyaa, that's not my fault aru. Blame those idiots."

The blond chuckled at this sentence; he was blaming those three idiots for a very long time already.

"If you want, I can talk to them da?" and by talk, he meant menace them to never come back here, but Yao didn't need to know that last part…

"I really don't think they will come here again."The Chinese confirmed. After the expressions on their faces when he gave them their bill; it was obvious that they wouldn't come back. But now that he thought about it, he believed the same thing for Ivan…and that Russian still had the attention to come back here "every day".

Yao was simply hoping his three annoying classmates wouldn't ever come back to bother him again.

"But I could give them a talk just in case?"Ivan added, snapping the Asian out of his thoughts.

"Do whatever you want, but just go home please."Yao sighed, really exhausted.

"…you forgot something again~"Ivan stated impishly.

"Aiyaa, Ivan please, I am really tired…"The other replied, hoping that the other would let it go…unfortunately, Ivan didn't look like he would let it go.

"I am just asking a little thing da?" Ivan explained softly. It wasn't like he was asking Yao to run 500 miles, he was just asking for a simple _little_ thing.

Yao answered to this with a huge sigh; it had been a long day indeed.

"Will my master please go home aru?"He finally said his cheeks blushing softly.

"Only if you come with me da? Kolkolkolkol" The blond replied with a mischievous smile.

"AIYAA, Ivan!"Yao snapped, flustered with the other's behaviour.

"I was only joking with you." The blond quickly said, amused to see Yao acting like this.

" I will be going, but just because my lovely maid asked so nicely." He added, giving the waiter a small smile.

This Russian really didn't know his limits... However, Yao couldn't understand why this was making him blush this much.

"Actually, I will be waiting for you outside da?"Ivan announced after paying for his bill.

"What? No, go home!"

"And let you walk home alone?"

"I walked by myself perfectly fine all these days that you didn't came aru."The Chinese remarked, not liking Ivan's protective comportment.

On the other side, Ivan was quite happy to hear that. He assumed his crush was upset because he didn't come to see him during the weekend; that was adorable.

"Ha, but Yao-Yao I know that you don't work on Fridays da? Plus, on weekends, the café only closes at 6, so it's not as dangerous."

Yao looked at the blond for a long moment...So that means Ivan completely knew the schedule of the café and also his personal schedule? This sounded so creepy, but at the same time so typical coming from his stalker.

"W-who told you about my schedule aru? Where did you get this information from?"

"I came Friday and you weren't there. So I asked your Danish co-worker and he gave me your personal schedule." Ivan explained with an upbeat tone.

"Aiyaa! NO!" Yao snapped full of exasperation. What was wrong with Mathias giving his stalker his personal schedule?

"Now, I will be seeing you everyday~" Ivan chimed.

Of course, this was something that Ivan seemed to really look forward too. And for once, somehow Yao didn't feel to much bothered by this…in fact, he was thinking that it was better than some other _people_ coming here to bother him…or maybe he was just absolutely tired?

"J-just go aru. I am really tired. I just want to go home and maybe take a nice bath."Yao finally said, half dreaming about taking nice warm bath to rest. This was the thing he needed the most right to help him relax.

"A bath?" Ivan asked, his mind rapidly picturing Yao taking a bath…

"Aiyaa! What are you thinking about again?" The Chinese snapped, seeing the suspicious smile on Ivan's face.

"I'm just thinking about a bath too da?" Ivan replied, not bothering to hide his smile. The current scene on his mind was perfect; he didn't want to forget about it.

"J-just go out now please?"The waiter asked once again, deciding to ignore the other's suspicious expression.

This time the Russian didn't argue and went out of the room, still having a dreamy expression on his face.

The Asian couldn't believe how easily Ivan decided to agree to leave now, but he wasn't complaining. He didn't have the patience anymore to be bothered with those things. Yao quickly went back to work, hoping to finish soon.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yay, the usual Rochuness is back ;) and I hope you enjoyed it ^-^ <strong>_

_**Unfortunately, I have to say that in the next three weeks (or more…) I will be very busy because of school, so I might not update frequently ;n; But after these weeks, my school semester will end (if everything happens correctly) so I will have the time to spend my efforts on my fanfics again uwu (I really can't wait to finish lol ^^;)**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Hey, guys, remember I said my school semester will end shortly, well guess what? It didn't happen and I still didn't have any exams.**_

_**To make a short story, students of my school are on strike because the government plans to increase the cost of the University, however, the government doesn't give a damn and doesn't do much (*cough*like usual*cough*) and the school pretends that nothing wrong is happening; so as you can see, this fight isn't going anywhere and it's only making my semester even more endless OTL**_

_**But anyway, enough about complaining (it's not like whining about it will solve any problems), the reason why I am explaining this is to say that I don't know when my exams will be, so I can't be sure if I will have the time to work on my story for the following weeks and therefore I don't know when the next chapter will be updated. **_

_**I'm sorry about that ^^; I am still going to work on it, but I don't think I will be capable of updating weekly until my semester ends (or more like until the fight is over -_-lll). **_

_**I sincerely thank everyone for your support, compression and your patience guys ;w; **_

_**And just like usual, I hope you guys will enjoy this chapter /(^7^)/**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 11<strong>_

Yao wasn't surprised that the first person he saw when he exited the café was none other than his stalker. Ivan was still there with his daydreaming expression; however, he quickly beamed a smile once his eyes met the Asian.

"Ha, you are still here aru!" The Chinese said with a hint of relief, as soon as he went outside and closed the café.

"Hm?" Ivan was surprised and interested that his crush was having such a relieved expression to see him.

Maybe Yao secretly wanted to walk home with him? Or maybe he was relying on him for protection.

Unfortunately, Ivan quickly realised that it wasn't the case…

"Here, take this aru!"The other ordered with a rather stern voice, giving the tall blond a twenty dollar bill.

"…what?" The Russian asked confused with the money. Why was Yao offering him that?

"I don't need you to give me so much tip aru. I don't know what you are planning, but don't expect me to offer you anything in exchange!" Yao added, still having a harsh voice.

The Chinese didn't know if Ivan was offering him this much money because of pity or generosity, _or_ if it was simply a scheme that his stalker was planning, but he couldn't accept such money every time. Ivan was a student like him, but, unlike him, the Russian didn't have any job. Yao couldn't believe that the other could afford to give him such a big tip every time. In fact, how could he have so money? Was he stealing banks? …Actually, Yao preferred not to even ask…

"Yao, this is for you. It's because you do a great job da? Keep it." Ivan answered with a smile, giving the money back to the Chinese.

"No it's not. It's too much! Not to mention that the things at the café are overprized aru. How can you pay for such things every day?"Yao snapped.

"That's my secret da?"

Yao was worth more than any money for him, but he had to admit that he thought it was pretty funny to see the Asian scolding him because he offered him money. For Ivan, that was an unusual reason to be scolded.

"Keep It Yao. I think you deserve it more than anyone else."

"Aiyaa…giving money away like this is such a waste aru! You are foolish." The other replied, seeing that Ivan obviously didn't want to keep the money.

"You are scolding me for giving you money; I think Yao-Yao is the one who is a little foolish da?" Ivan remarked with a playful tone. The Chinese quickly answered with a small unapproved pout which only made Ivan chuckle.

"Let's go home da?" Ivan finally proposed, realising that Yao didn't seemed to agree with his last comment.

"Don't tell me you don't think it's a little out of your budget coming here aru?"Yao inquired following Ivan.

"Well it is, but I think it's worth it da?"

"W-why?"The Asian asked with a surprised tone. Sure, there are some good delicacies, but it was way less expensive to buy them at a market. He wasn't capable to understand why Ivan would be so keen about coming to the café…unless...

"Wait? Do you only come here because I am wearing a dress aru?" Yao questioned.

_Oh, yeah…_Ivan answered in his head with a wistful expression again.

However, he glanced at the smaller one to see that Yao didn't seem as happy with this thought as he was…

"But, not just for that."Ivan rapidly admitted.

"_Not just for that_…?"The Chinese repeated bitterly. So that means that the fact he was wearing a dress _was_ indeed one reason.

"I-I mean, there are a lot of reasons da? The service is truly nice and pleasant, and the cake is really delicious? Yao-Yao is really a good at cooking." The blond explained.

"I do not bake the cake. I only serve it."

"…"

How psychologically funny, now the cake didn't seem as good to Ivan…

"You don't?"He murmured, with a clear disappointed tone in his voice.

"Of course not. I am a waiter not a cook aru."

"kolkolkolkol~ Yao-Yao, your job is a money stealer da?"The Russian muttered disconcerted. For some strange reason, now, paying this much for a cake didn't seem reasonable anymore.

"Aiyaa! You realise all this only now aru?"Yao snapped, surprised that Ivan could have been this naïve.

"Aww, this is unfair Yao."The Russian whined childishly while pouting.

"Don't look at me like this aru. I can't offer you anything for free." The Chinese confirmed, deciding to ignore the other's sudden cute look.

On the other side, Ivan was starting to be a little worried, because this didn't seem good for him…

He wanted to visit Yao every day, unfortunately, he couldn't come to the café if he didn't bought something; Yao even made it clear on the first day he went there. In addition, he also wanted to keep giving his Yao-Yao a big tip to impress him, but soon he wouldn't have enough money to carry on with this. Therefore, he needed to find a way to have more money if he ever wanted to continue with seeing his crush after school.

"Ivan…"Yao's soft voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"I will go now…"Yao said, pointing at his apartment building.

They already arrived? Today's walk seemed so short; Ivan didn't want to depart Yao this soon.

"Will you be fine going home alone at this hour?"Yao inquired before heading to his building.

"Sure. Don't need to worry about me, Yao-Yao."Ivan said with a cute smile, he liked to see his crush concerned about him.

"I-I am not worried aru! I'm just making sure!"Yao replied back. "Bye, see you tomorrow Ivan."

"Bye…"The Russian slowly replied to the other. He absolutely didn't want Yao to go away. He knew he would see him tomorrow, they even had the same class together, but it seemed like this day passed too fast.

And just like if Ivan's wish was fulfilled, Yao stopped to walk and turned around to look at him.

"…"

There was some moment of silence between them and some hopeful thought appeared on Ivan's mind; maybe Yao also didn't want to go?

"Aiyaa! Will you let go of my sleeve aru?"The Chinese finally asked, since the Russian didn't seem like he got the point of his stare.

Ivan gradually looked down to realise that he was indeed grabbing Yao's sleeve. He probably unconsciously did that? If that was the case, Ivan was proud of his sub-conscience.

"Ha ha…maybe…"The blond answered, disappointed to see that this was the only reason Yao didn't walked away. Though, he still decided to not let go of the other's sleeve.

"Maybe aru?"

"I thought that maybe we shouldn't end the day like this da?"The Russian suggested.

"What do you mean?"The Chinese inquired curiously wondering what the other was expecting.

"Can I have a kiss?" Ivan asked bluntly, his cheeks softly blushing.

"…." Yao looked at the other with the stare of complete blankness for a long moment. Did he hear correctly? Was Ivan really asking for a kiss? All the sudden? Out of Nowhere?

"Aiyaa, why are you asking such things aru? I won't kiss you!" He shouted. Soon Ivan wasn't the only one who had blushing cheeks.

"Awww." It was the only reply Ivan could say. Actually, he saw that coming, especially since Yao was so shy, but he couldn't be blamed to try, right?

"Seriously? What are you thinking aru? You drank too much coffee if you think I will kiss you!" The Chinese replied flustered. If Ivan had crazy thoughts like this with only drinking coffee, he didn't want to imagine what kind of thoughts the other would have when he was drunk.

"It was simply a thought. Let's forget about it da?" Ivan demanded a little shyly. He really hoped he didn't made things awkward between them.

"Really you…. "The Asian sighed. For some reason this didn't surprised him anymore… Only, Ivan would ask such a thing so casually and bluntly.

"Why are you smiling Yao?"Ivan questioned, noticing a soft smile on Yao's lips.

"I am simply tired aru."The other quickly said while trying to hide his smile. "So I guess I will see you tomorrow in math class aru."

"Wait! Can I have a hug at least?"Ivan asked rapidly before Yao could leave again. Once again, the Asian didn't know how to reply; Ivan sure asked weird questions out of the blue.

"A friendly hug."The Russian added, seeing that Yao didn't seem convinced by this.

"O-okay, but only if you don't plan anything else!"Yao warned the other. He had some odd feeling that Ivan wasn't suggesting this for nothing.

"I promise."The blond said with a small smile. A hug was better than nothing, at least.

Once Ivan got the approval from the Chinese, he was the first one who came closer and brought his arms around the smaller one. Slowly, Yao did the same; however, he rapidly pushed away after some seconds. Obviously this made Ivan a little sad; their hug didn't last long...

"I-I have to go now aru. See you tomorrow!" Yao announced walking away from Ivan.

"Ha…" The blond said still disappointed with the small hug."Have a good night Yao!"He finally added more cheerfully, waving at his crush like usual before going away. He was seriously wondering why Yao was suddenly this hurried for.

On the other side, Yao was finally happy to be at home, he waited all day for that. Yet, instead of entering the building he stood in front of the door and looked at Ivan walking away, for a while…

"Hmm, excuse me, could you please move?" A woman next to him asked with a hint of confusion in her voice. It didn't take long for Yao to realise that he was blocking the door of the building's entrance, since he was standing there in the middle of the way…

"Aiyaa, I am sorry aru!" He apologized embarrassed, moving away from the door. He probably looked like an idiot standing there…and all this was because he was thinking of Ivan…

What was the Russian doing to his mind?

* * *

><p><em><strong>Well, it seems like Yao is starting to get attached to Ivan ha ha xD<strong>_

_**Anyway, I did my best to make this chapter longer than usual, because of the lack of updates recently (because of school!). I hope you guys enjoyed it =)**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Hey guys, I am not dead lol, ;w; I am almost finish with my school finals, but I thought I needed a break (A BIG ONE!) from all this boring work ^^; (more I write my essays, more I am becoming Times New Roman phobic x,D).**_

_**Thanks everyone for your incredible patience and encouragement, it means a lot QwQ I am incredibly sorry for taking almost a month to update this, but sadly, real life sucks because my studies come first ;_; (the sad truth).**_

_**However, they can take away my freedom, but they can't take away my love for my OTP! X,DD Never!**_

_**((Errr, anyway x,D, after the 18**__**th**__** this fanfic will be updated frequently again hooray!)) **_

_**This chapter was longer once again (an apology for the unhealthy lack of updates) and I hope you guys enjoy it =,)**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 12<strong>_

Since the beginning of his math class, Yao has been trying to listen to the teacher's explanations; however he couldn't focus on the subject. In fact, for the last couple of minutes, the Chinese couldn't help but to feel observed, _really_ observed. Maybe he was simply a little paranoid or maybe he was imagining stuff because he was tired, but somehow this feeling didn't stop bothering him.

What he didn't realised, though, was that he was simply observed by his usual Russian stalker. A few seats behind Yao, Ivan's total attention was on the Chinese instead of to be on what the teacher was saying. Math was Ivan's favourite class; however it was simply because he had a seat very close to his crush and could admire him the entire time instead of actually paying attention to what he was supposed to...

Though, recently, he wished that time at school could pass a little faster, like this he could go back and spent time with Yao-Yao.

The blond was happy that each day he could visit the Chinese; in fact, their relation seemed to improve each time he visited him. In only a couple of days, he was able to speak to Yao, walk with him and he even made him smile. Not to mention he could still admire Yao wearing the amazing maid outfit.

In addition, yesterday, Ivan had a hug from him, a very short hug, but a hug nonetheless. Maybe today he would have another hug or possibly finally a kiss? One thing was sure; he definitely couldn't wait for the kiss!

_At last_, the bell chimed, snapping Ivan out of his thoughts and announcing the dinner break. It was only the middle of the day and Ivan already couldn't wait to be out of this place and go to the café again. Usually, his first thought would be to get out of class rapidly, but instead he decided to approach Yao who was still at his desk.

"Yao-Yao!"Ivan chimed to his crush who was slowly packing his school bag."How are you today?"

"F-fine and you?" Yao asked still a little disturbed about the suspicious feeling he had earlier.

"Perfect~" The blond replied happily. After his question of yesterday about the kiss, he was more than glad to see that things weren't awkward between them. Exactly one week ago, his interactions with Yao wouldn't have been this friendly. This was a good sign, right?

"So, how did you found today's math class?"The Russian asked, trying to start a conversation.

"…Hm…troubling aru…" Yao actually said, unsure of how to describe it. He felt a little bad for not having paid much attention in class today. He had a feeling that he would have to study a lot to catch up with what he just missed.

"It's the same for me. Math sure is worrying da?"

...Especially when one doesn't listen in class…

"Yeah…did you talk about my job to anyone?"The dark haired Asian suddenly inquired, with a small serious tone. He hoped he didn't sound too rude, but he simply had to ask it and the sooner was the better.

"What? No! I didn't do that!"Ivan replied, confused with the unexpected question.

"Please, promise me you won't tell anyone about it aru!"Yao demanded again.

"I promise!"

And the Chinese was, in fact, truly relieved to hear that. He could say he trusted this promise more than another one that was made by some American he knew.

"I already told you that I will not talk about your job to anyone. Have you forgotten?"The tall one pointed out with a playful tone.

"Yes, it's true aru…Thank you, Ivan…"Yao kindly answered. He was secretly grateful that Ivan accepted to keep this a secret.

"You are very welcomed Yao."

The Asian gave the other a small smile before leaving the class.

Ivan could make it official; Yao's smiles were so precious. That was enough to completely cheer him up. It would be even more wonderful if Yao could smile like this at work.

"S-so, do you want to have lunch with me da?"Ivan finally proposed, quickly following Yao out of the class.

"Well, I usually have lunch with my cousins, aru…"The other remarked with a concerned look.

"Ha…." The blond only said. He was obviously disappointed to hear this.

"But, if you want, you can join us…"Yao rapidly added. Even if the Russian was still having his usual smile, Yao could see that the other was saddened. In fact, Yao wondered if Ivan had someone to actually eat lunch with. Last time he saw the blond at the lunch break he was eating at the study room with their usual group of classmates; Francis, Arthur and Alfred. If Ivan had to endure these annoying westerners, like Yao had to yesterday, each dinner, that guy must have the worst lunch breaks ever! He sincerely was sad for him.

"…No, it's okay Yao. I will have lunch with my other friends then…" The Russian assured with a bashful smile.

On the other hand, the Asian was not convinced with this answer. He was about to invite Ivan to join him and his cousins for lunch again, but before he could speak, he heard someone call for him from the other side of the hall.

"Aniki!"

Yao didn't even need to turn his head to know that it was his cousin Yong who was a little impatient.

"I'm coming!" He quickly shouted at the other.

"Well, see you later aru."Yao told Ivan, before leaving him to join his cousin.

The Russian couldn't help but to beam a smile when he heard his crush say "see you later". So Yao was expecting to see him later after all.

"Yes, see you later!"Ivan said cheerfully. He seriously couldn't wait to be "later".

And, unfortunately, this is when he remembered that he needed money for that…

"Dude! You still have the intention of going at the café? Are you insane?"A sudden irritating voice remarked. The Russian slowly looked next to him to see that Alfred and Arthur were apparently eavesdropping his last conversation with Yao.

"I'm not insane." It was the only reply Ivan gave. He definitely didn't want those idiots to come ruin his day with Yao again. Therefore, the less they knew, the better it was.

"Why? Do you have the intention to go back there, da? Kolkolkolkol!"He added with a bitter tone.

"Dude did you see the prices? I can have way better at Mc Donald's and I would spend less money!"The American exclaimed.

"Really?"Ivan asked surprised. He never thought that he could get rid of these morons that easily. It must be his lucky day, after all.

"Seriously, only like the Queen of England has the money to go there more than once." Obviously this was exaggerating, but to Alfred it wasn't and it only made Arthur wince at this ridiculous comparison.

"Yes. Of course, the Queen…"The British muttered sarcastically.

"So none of you will go there again?"Ivan inquired once more, to be certain.

"Not me, that's for sure." Arthur complained with an irritating tone."I have way more important things to do than waste my money there. The food is rubbish! And I will spare my opinion on the service!"

It didn't take long for Ivan to give a threatening glare at the British. Was he implying that Yao's service wasn't good?

"Artie, no offence, but I think you are simply still grumpy because Yao is making more money than you and because the manager told you they didn't need new employees."Alfred bluntly stated.

"NO! I am not upset because of that, you idiot!"Arthur snapped angrily at the other. He rapidly stormed away, leaving the American behind.

"Wait! Arthur! Don't go away! Can you still help me for my English report?"Alfred screamed, trying to follow Arthur.

"Good riddance…"Ivan snickered. Now he could focus on his plan to find more money.

* * *

><p>At noon, it was always a pain trying to find a table to eat at the cafeteria. Therefore when Yao and Yong arrived there, they were so thankful to see that their cousin Kiku already found a table. As soon as they sat, Yao hastily unpacked his lunch more than eager to eat. He thought that if he finished his dinner soon, he could probably try to catch up with what he missed in math class.<p>

"So Aniki, what were you doing with the creepy Russian with a scarf and a big nose?"The Korean suddenly questioned with an alarmed tone.

"You know him?"The Japanese quickly inquired with a mix of worry and shock.

Well, it seemed like Yao wouldn't have the time for maths this noon…

"Y-yeah somehow aru."Yao answered, unsure of what was the point of these questions. He didn't really like how they were asking this like it was something terrible.

"What was he doing with you?"Kiku asked again.

"He is in the same class as me and was just asking questions, nothing important."Yao replied, trying to avoid talking about the fact that the Russian was always seeing him at work. The last thing he wanted was to involve his family into his work; he had enough complications with simply acquaintances.

"But it seems like you will see him later. I heard you say something like this da-zee!"The Korean pointed out skeptically, remembering his cousin's last words before departing the Russian.

"W-well…"Yao seriously didn't know what to say that wouldn't force him to talk about his work. He had a feeling that if he told them that his stalker comes to see him every day at his work, they would be worried, which would be ridiculous. It's not like Ivan was actually doing something suspicious. That guy only came each day to see him work and give him money…

…Now that he thought about it, it was a little suspicious…But Ivan had been really kind until now, Yao could even say that the blond was sweet; suspicious, but sweet.

He slowly looked at his cousins to realise that both were curiously waiting for an answer. For the second time in less than 24 hours, Yao spaced out thinking about Ivan. Why was he doing that? And why it always happened when it wasn't the time? The Chinese could feel his cheeks being red yet again.

"I-I said that because we have another class together this afternoon aru."Yao stuttered, finally deciding to use this as an excuse.

"Okay…"Kiku said unsure of what to think about his older cousin's troubled look. It was rare to see the other be hesitant.

"Wait a minute…"Yong gasped, realising that what his Chinese cousin said was strange.

His Aniki was blushing, stuttering, avoiding to look at them in the eyes, feeling uneasy and, in reality, his explanations seemed pretty odd….To Yong, there was only one logical explanation for this weird behaviour….

"Aniki! Don't tell me that the creepy Russian is bullying you!" He screamed.

"Aiyaa! What?"The oldest Asian expressed, not understanding this weird accusation.

"Everything is clear now! That guy is such a troublemaker and I heard he is pretty cruel. Just tell me if he is bullying you! I'm going to show him not to bully my Aniki da-zee!"Yong exclaimed with many determination.

"It's insane aru! That guy never did anything! He was asking normal question! Stop believing such stupid rumours!"Yao snapped furiously at Yong, scaring the other quite a little.

"O-okay Aniki…."

"We are sorry. We didn't want to frustrate you." Kiku told the Chinese, trying to calm his unexpected anger.

"Y-yes Aniki I am truly sorry."The Korean rapidly added, with a worried look on his face.

"I-I am not frustrated aru."Yao slowly remarked.

"But you look unhappy…."

"I-I just…" Well Yao had to admit that he wasn't showing any positive emotions at the moment. "I simply don't think it's fair to judge someone only because of rumours aru…"He added a little embarrassed to have felt irritated because of such a little thing.

"I agree with you….but just be careful."Kiku warned.

"…"The older Asian couldn't shake the feeling that the Japanese meant something with this.

"So Yong, I heard you got tickets for a concert next Friday. Are you excited?"Kiku suddenly asked his Korean cousin, hoping to change the atmosphere and the subject.

"Yes. I can't wait for it! I'm sure it's going to be amazing da-zee!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>This chapter was long to edit, but I guess it's been okay ^^;; <strong>_

_**Hope you guys enjoyed =D And like usual, your reviews always make me happy c= **_

_**See you guys soon /(^7^)/**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Yeah, I'm sorry for not have updated this fic Monday, but I had to work -_-llll And then we were having like this wonderful weather, so I didn't felt like staying home ^^; **_

_**Nonetheless, I decided to make the chapters a little longer than they used to be from now on, since I have no school anymore =) **_

_**Once again hope you guys enjoy~**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 13<strong>_

Today was a beautiful sunny day. The weather was absolutely perfect, thus it was a great idea to have a picnic outside for lunch.

"It's such a charming day!"A young Latvian said with a cheerful smile. He was so happy with the nice weather that he didn't care if his friends and he had to sit on the grass for lunch.

"Yes, and it's also so quiet…" The Lithuanian, next to him, agreed, sharing the same enthusiasm as his friend.

"I don't know why, but it's been pretty quiet like this for the last couple of days…"The Estonian added, feeling like there was something missing. "Anyway, I wish it could last like this forever." He finally concluded.

The two other approved. They all were too much content with the nice weather to care about what in the world was seemingly missing. They all decided to continue their lunch serenely, enjoying the warm sun. However, soon a big shadow appeared and blocked the sunlight away from them.

Why did they suddenly felt an eerie atmosphere?

Slowly, they turned their heads to see a familiar person….

"Hey guys, It's me!" Ivan exclaimed having his usual joyful smile.

"HAAAAA!" They all screamed on cue.

Ha, there was the "thing" that was missing from the recent days…

"It's been a while since I saw you guys. Did you missed me, da?"Ivan asked completely oblivious to the evident scared expression of the three other students.

"Y-yeah, it's been a while that we didn't see you…"Eduard pointed out anxiously.

Usually, Ivan would join them for the lunch break, or on some days, walk with them after school since they all lived in the same neighbourhood. Though, strangely, for the last couple of days, the Russian didn't even come to talk to them. Actually, Eduard honestly thought that Ivan had forgotten about them, at least it that was what Ravis hoped. Unfortunately for the Latvian, it seemed like it wasn't the case.

"E-Eduard sure is right…where have you been, Ivan?" Toris decided to ask, hoping to start a discussion that wouldn't put them in danger.

"I discovered a very nice place where I am always happy."The Russian replied with a big smile, daydreaming of Yao and the nice café again.

"…"The three friends looked blankly at the Russian. Well, that was a very strange answer coming from a quite strange person; however, the three were really wondering what the meaning of this truly odd reply was.

"But we didn't see you at lunch…"The Latvian remarked slowly, with a hint of confusion. "So we hoped you were gone—"He added before being cut in midsentence by his two panicked friends.

"RAVIS!"

"Gone?"Ivan repeated the other's last word, unsure of what to think about this comment.

"N-no! What Ravis is saying is that since we didn't see you for a couple of days, we thought you had a cold…and that you didn't come to school."Eduard rapidly explained, afraid of angering the Russian.

"Ha, silly Ravis, da? I'm perfectly healthy." The tall one simply chuckled. Apparently, Ivan was in an _extremely_ good mood today, which was very fine for them, but at the same time, they all suspected something truly wary to happen.

It's not every day that Ivan was this happy. What in the world was going on?

"S-so, if you went to that …happy place…what made you return here…to the unhappy place?"Toris inquired, uncertain of what the Russian was talking about. He was more than curious to know what was sparing them from their frequent fear. But, his conscience kept telling him it would be better if he wouldn't exactly ask about it.

"I came to have lunch with my friends~" Ivan chimed, finally deciding to sit on the grass next to them.

"Ha…"The three commented completely surprised of hearing such revelation. …Well that was rather kind coming from Ivan…

"Well…you are welcomed to stay…"

"Also, I need more money."Ivan suddenly added bluntly, still having his usual smile.

"…"

Money? For what did he needed "_more_" money? And why was he asking them for that? Of course, Ivan's visit was way too much simple to be true.

"You will give me some money da? You are my friends after all, right?" Ivan asked, patiently waiting for an answer.

"…."Once again, the three didn't pronounce a word.

"Right?" Ivan asked once more, now obviously getting impatient.

"Y-yes of course!"They all stuttered; it's not like they had any other option, sadly.

"B-but, are you going back to that happy place?"Ravis questioned. If it would make Ivan being away from them and stop scaring him, he could even give him his complete wallet.

"Da! It's a really wonderful place, but I need more money for it."

"Can I ask where that is?" Eduard inquired curiously.

Ivan could explain, but he promised Yao he wouldn't tell anyone about the café. Plus, he didn't want other people to ruin his fun and to risk the chance of them stealing Yao's attention away from him. Especially now that he was sure that nobody else would come to bother his nice time with his crush.

"No, you can't ask!"He answered abruptly.

"But it's weird. Can we at least know the purpose for the money?"Toris asked.

"No you can't! It's a secret and none of your business! Kolkolkolkolkol!"Ivan harshly replied, suddenly emitting a purple aura.

Why did it seem like they were suspecting him of doing something bad? It frustrated Ivan that he always had to force his friends to agree with him every time he asked something from them. It was almost like if they didn't trust him.

"HAAAAAAA!"The trio screamed, cursing themselves to have pushed their luck.

"So will you give me the money or not?"Ivan demanded again, finally taking out his pipe.

In less than a second, the three took out their wallet and gave the Russian some dollar bills. And they were more than relieved to see that it calmed the Russian.

"Yay, thank you~"Ivan exclaimed, having his smile back. He was sure that with the money his friends "loaned" him he would be able to buy stuff at the café for some days. It will give him enough time to actually think about a plan to have more money.

He quickly glanced back to his friends and noticed that they were having their typical worried expression once again. Of course, they only agreed with him when they were scared…

Ivan was about to leave them, but before going away, he noticed that the three were all perplexedly staring at something behind him. As Ivan looked behind, he realised that he was probably going to be in trouble again, since it was none other than their school headmaster; Germania.

"So what is happening here?" The German inquired with a harsh tone.

"N-nothing."Ivan answered, rapidly hiding both his pipe and the money behind his back. The Last time he has been caught "bullying" someone, the headmaster made him stay after class. Right now, this was absolutely the last thing Ivan wanted.

"Are you sure? I heard some screaming!"The headmaster remarked. He wasn't gullible, he saw Ivan with his pipe. Every single time, that student had it, something bad happened."Are you intimidating those poor people again?"

"I don't see what you are talking about, sir."The Russian lied.

"Y-Yeah, it's not like he was bullying us!"The Latvian said out of the blue, before once again being stopped by the two others.

"RAVIS!"

_Damn it!_ Ivan cursed, giving the little one a menacing glare. Why couldn't Ravis just learn to shut up?

"Hmmm, what is the meaning of this?"The adult asked, discontented to hear that suspicious sentence.

"T-there is nothing happening; it's only Ravis saying random things."Eduard confirmed with a very fake reassuring voice. He was doing his best to save everyone from trouble (and probably a certain death), but unfortunately, there wasn't much he could do.

"I'll make a note with your teacher, Braginski. He'll talk to you after school."The headmaster warned Ivan. Classes were about to start in a few minutes, there was nothing he could do presently.

After school? _Damn it!_ That was the thing Ivan wanted to avoid all along. It was awful...now, he would be late to meet Yao at the café…and it was _their_ entire fault.

The minute the headmaster was gone, Ivan glared deathly at the three.

"If I give you my wallet, would you spare our lives?"The Estonian proposed with a desperate voice, offering the other his wallet in hope that they would survive.

* * *

><p>"Mathias! What were you thinking giving my personal schedule to my stalker aru?"<p>

The first thing Yao did when he arrived at his workplace was to obviously scream at his lazy co-worker. However, for once Mathias wasn't scolded because of slacking at work; this time it was about something that he entirely didn't understand.

"What? I don't even know what you are talking about!"The other replied.

"Yes you do aru! You gave Ivan my personal schedule last Friday aru!"Yao complained dropping his tone a little.

As much as he would never admit it to anyone, he was more than used to see Ivan coming to the café; it didn't bother him anymore. Although, he disliked the fact that his stalked had his schedule, he had to acknowledge that there wasn't much the Russian would do, that he didn't already did.

Actually, it was the fact that Mathias easily gave personal details to someone that did trouble him. He absolutely didn't want that idiot to give important stuff like this to anyone. Now, that he thought about it, Mathias wasn't allowed to do that either.

"Well he asked for it kindly, so I thought it wasn't a big deal since he is your friend."Mathias stated, not sure of the reason why Yao was annoyed.

"N-no, he is not…really a friend, aru..."The Chinese pointed out somehow hesitantly. To be honest, Yao wasn't even sure what exactly Ivan was for him.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I meant to say; "since he is your boyfriend". There! Happy?"Mathias corrected himself, thinking that this was the reason why Yao was upset.

"HE ISN'T MY BOYFRIEND EITHER!"The Asian snapped, his cheeks being completely red.

"Okay! Okay! "The other reassured his frustrated co-worker. Damn, it didn't seem like Yao was in a good mood today. He only hoped he wouldn't last like this for the rest of the day.

"Oh, there is a client! I think you should go!"The Dane quickly remarked, hoping he could get rid of Yao's endless scolding.

The Chinese sighed; yet, another excuse used by Mathias to avoid work. Yao would have forced him to work, but the client was probably Ivan, so it would probably be better if he would go…

However, when he came to see the customer, he found someone he definitely wasn't expecting.

"Bonjour, mon joli~"

"W-What? Francis? What are you doing here?"Yao asked, actually surprised to see the European here. He only hoped that the same scene from yesterday wouldn't happen today.

"I came to drink some latté. The view here is magnificent." He explained.

"If you only came here to flirt with that girl again, she won't come back aru. One of the employees dropped some coffee on her expensive shoes and she went away frustrated…"The Chinese plainly said, completely figuring out what was the point of the French.

"Nooo!"Francis whined disappointed to hear the news.

"Yes…"The waiter confirmed. "So, it seems like you have nothing to do here. Please get out!"

"Well, I might as well take something since I'm here. This place still has a pretty view."He declared giving the other a small wink.

"Fine."The Chinese muttered, it's not like he actually could kick Francis out of here. If he could, he would have done it yesterday. Therefore, he decided to just give Francis what he ordered and hope that someone will distract the blond so that he wouldn't stay here for a long time.

"By the way, If I were you, I wouldn't sit there aru. It's Ivan's usual place."Yao added.

"Haa, so it explains a lot…"The blond expressed, with an interested grin.

"What?"

"This is why you are upset, oui? You were expecting Ivan."He clarified with a mischievous tone.

"N-no. I-I wasn't! Why would I be expecting him aru?"Yao shouted, his cheeks starting to be red again.

"I didn't know you two had that sort of relationship."Francis still added with a smirk. One doesn't simply blush like this for any reason.

"Absolutely not! We don't have any relationship aru."The Asian replied. Why was everyone insinuating that Ivan and he had something?

"So it doesn't bother you if I sit at the place your usual customer does?"The French inquired, intrigued to see Yao's flustered reaction.

"Not at all!"The waiter confirmed, before leaving. If Francis wouldn't listen to his warning, it was fine by him! The French would just have to pay the consequences when Ivan would come. Though, suddenly a gloomy emotion took over him. He had a feeling things wouldn't be easy today either.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Looks like Ivan is going to have a little big surprise when he'll come to the café xD Poor Ivan didn't have the wonderful day he expected… =o (but maybe it's too soon to confirm? ^^;).<strong>_

_**As usual, Germania is the headmaster of school xD (it's like something typical for Gakuen Hetalia fics), but I needed a headmaster, so I thought "Why not?", because I didn't felt like making a character. (Plus, Germania seems like he has a lot of potential to be a headmaster.) By the way, does anyone know if there is a fandom name for Germania? Because, for some reason, I find it really weird calling him like that while all the others have names lol x,D (However, it's not like he is going to appear a lot, so it doesn't really matter ^-^)**_


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter 14**_

Unfortunately, Ivan was forced to stay after school to have a small talk with his teacher. He truly wanted to skip his "detention"…and that was what he tried. However, it was always when he _absolutely_ didn't wanted to, that the teacher actually paid attention to him.

"Ivan! The headmaster told me you were causing trouble again."The Italian teacher remarked before the student in question could leave.

"I wasn't causing any trouble."Ivan simply replied. He wanted to get out of this detention fast. Usually, M. Vargas was a very relaxed teacher who was pretty carefree when he would took care of detentions. With him, it was either the detention was long and boring, or it was rapid and brief. The Russian always hoped for the second option, but today he wanted that option more than any other days.

"From what the headmaster told me, apparently Ravis seemed to be really scared earlier today."The teacher pointed out, trying to remember what the German informed him.

"But he always seems to be scared."The student defended himself. He knew Ravis since he was a little kid and not once he saw the Latvian without his typical scared expression. Ivan didn't understand why everyone was blaming him for that…it was just a coincidence that the small boy only panicked when Ivan was around him, that's all…

"…You have a point."M. Vargas admitted with a thoughtful expression.

Does that mean he could go away? This was the only thing Ivan wanted to know!

"I have done nothing wrong! I was just spending time with my friends." The Russian explained. "Can I go, now?"

"I don't know…Germania did seem pretty serious when he asked me to talk to you…."The other stated with a hesitated look. He would love to let the student go; he also had business to take care after class, although he couldn't shake the feeling he would regret being too carefree with this detention.

_Darn!_ The blond lost all his hopes; this was M. Vargas's way to say that he would have to endure a long detention.

"…But if you promise to not cause any more trouble, I can let you go."The Italian finally concluded. This answer brought a big smile on Ivan's face.

"I promise!" The Russian said, not losing a second to get out of the class.

Well, Ivan was glad to see that he got rid of this problem that quickly. Although, he only had been in "detention" for about 5 minutes, he felt like he lost enough time there.

Cheerfully, he headed to the café, more than eager to see his pretty maid again….

…however, when he arrived there, he sadly saw a scene that he didn't like.

"Mon Joli, can I have another coffee, please?" Some French blond asked with a glorious, yet seemingly perverted smile.

"Aiyaa, don't call me like this!"The Chinese waiter replied, his cheeks softly blushing cutely.

Of course, the scene from Ivan's point of view was over exaggerated, since actually nothing unusual happened between Yao and Francis' conversation….nonetheless, the Russian almost had a stroke when he saw this.

He arrived a little later than usual, and yet, someone else was at _his _usual place and flirting with _his_ crush! Plus, Yao wasn't doing a thing to stop it!

What was that? How in the world could Yao let this happen?

He suddenly had a mixing feeling of sadness and anger; he felt like his heart has been shattered in thousands pieces. However, one thing was sure; he wasn't going to let this sort of thing happen. These two had some explaining to do!

"Kolkolkolkolkol~"

"Aiyaa! I-Ivan!" Yao expressed the moment he recognized the creepy sound. He was certain that the Russian wouldn't be happy to see that Francis was at his usual place.

"I-Ivan? Something is wrong?"Francis inquired with a wary smile.

"You are at my place! Go away now!"The Russian harshly ordered.

"Ivan, stop! You can't force him to get out just because he is at your usual place aru!"The waiter snapped, discontented with the other's behaviour.

"kolkolkolkol~ why are you protecting him?"Ivan asked, now very Jealous. He couldn't understand why Yao was taking the side of the French pervert! It was making him even more sad and irritated.

"This has nothing to do with him!"The Asian rapidly answered "You simply can't do that aru. It's ridiculous; there are many other available places here." He explained, hoping it would calm his stalker. There was absolutely no need to make a big scene because of a stupid table, especially when there was no one else in the entire café. Unfortunately, it didn't stop the Russian from being upset.

"Yao-Yao is breaking my heart."The Russian whined with a saddened tone.

"Aiyaa! Ivan, don't act like this!"Yao said with a sudden soft voice.

"…"

Apparently, it seemed like both Ivan and Yao forgot about the fact that Francis was still there. In fact, this one was more than intrigued with how the two were talking. No matter what Yao said earlier about not having a relationship with Ivan, it looked like they were indeed sharing some kind of relation.

"Am I disturbing a date between your two?"Francis suddenly questioned, with a curious smile. This question completely startled the two other; they somehow forgot that the French was still there.

Obviously, Ivan was about to rapidly say "yes", unfortunately for him, Yao had some other answer…

"NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!"

For Ivan, his little time after school with Yao was considered a date, but, sadly, it was true…they weren't officially dating…_yet!_ However, it will come soon, Ivan was sure of it! That is, if ever Francis would go away and stop jeopardising their relationship.

"Yao-Yao, why can't you tell him to get out of here?"Ivan demanded, still having a bitter tone.

"I can't force him to get out! He is a customer just like you. And there is absolutely nothing between us, so stop making yourself ideas of us aru!"The Chinese confirmed before leaving them to go to the kitchen.

Ivan couldn't believe that! He was definitely NOT a customer like others. Yao, from all the people, should know that!

The Russian watched Yao slowly returning to the kitchen with a disappointed look. He came here to enjoy an alone time with him and he decided that he will have it!

If Yao wouldn't do anything about it, he sure would.

* * *

><p>"Hey mon joli, smile!"Francis told the waiter.<p>

"I already told you to not call me like—"

And Yao couldn't finish his sentence, because, once again, a flash startled his view and temporarily blinded him. The next thing he saw was Francis with a small mischievous smirk.

"Don't take pictures of me!"The Chinese ordered; his face completely red of both embarrassment and frustration.

"Aw, am I embarrassing you, Yao?"The European remarked, not bothering to listen to the waiter.

"J-just stop it!"Yao stuttered, completely tired of Francis' schemes.

"kolkolkolkolkolkolkol~"

And apparently he wasn't the only one; Ivan, who decided to sit at the closest table to observe them, was holding his faucet pipe very tightly, more than anger of all this flirting. It was needless to mention that the atmosphere couldn't be any colder…and scary…

_Aiyaa…_ Yao couldn't believe that Francis wasn't affected by the murderous glare that Ivan was giving him.

"I-Ivan is there something you want aru?" He finally decided to talk to the Russian; maybe discussing with him will ease the negative ambiance.

It didn't take much time for Ivan to give the waiter a small smile, at least, Yao was relieved about this.

Finally, Ivan could have Yao's attention all to himself. Now was the time to compliment him and be a better charmer than Francis in hope of impressing his crush.

"Can I have a chocolate cake my beautiful sunflower?"Ivan asked with a sweet and cheerful tone.

"What? What's up with this name aru?" The Chinese replied in shock, blushing at the mention of this somewhat tender name that really came out of the blue.

"I thought this nickname matched you perfectly since you are as beautiful as a sunflower da?"The Russian explained, giving a wink to the waiter.

"…" The Asian looked at the blond with a very confused expression, gaping. He couldn't say a thing. Actually, he didn't know what to say exactly. This was something he never expected.

On the other side, Ivan was happy to see his crush in complete awe. He was absolutely sure he impressed and charmed his pretty maid. Of course, Ivan rapidly assumed that he was obviously Yao's favourite; Francis could return home.

"Y-You are so foolish aru!"Yao turned around, avoiding looking at the Russian. He still truly didn't know how to respond to that. Was it really a compliment or was Ivan messing up with him? That idiot was only making him even more embarrassed on his job!

"I'll bring your order soon."The waiter added, wanting to go to the kitchen to think clearly about the situation.

"Wait Yao! Can you call me by my special name?"Ivan quickly asked again, before Yao could escape.

"N-now?"Seriously, today Ivan was truly surprising him.

"It will make my day! Please~"The blond begged, sweetly.

The Chinese wanted to say no, but he couldn't. Not with the how kindly Ivan asked him that. Plus, if it's something that would make the other stop being upset, he didn't see why he wouldn't agree.

"I-it should be ready soon, master."

This made Ivan beam a very big smile.

Yao was pretty relieved to see that the Russian was calm now. Maybe talking with him was the solution, after all.

"_Master_?"Francis repeated curiously what the Asian said, once again surprising the two other.

Yao turned around to see the French with a big smirk. Was Francis eavesdropping on them all this time? Well it wasn't like they made their discussion privately; Francis _was_ at the table _right_ next to them.

"Well, well~ I can see that you two seem to be a lot close. So now you two have your own pet names?"Francis chuckled, thinking that it was really intriguing.

"W-what? NO!"The Chinese denied.

"Da! It's Yao-Yao's special name to satisfy me."Ivan announced with a dreamy tone, completely contradicting what Yao just said.

"What?"Yao screamed. Why Ivan said that? Now, Francis will have even more insane ideas.

"Hon hon, special name? Ivan sure has a special treatment. He must be your favourite customer, Yao!"Francis pointed with a playful tone.

The Russian chuckled. For someone he had disliked for the last couple of minutes, Francis was saying some stuff he liked to hear.

"NO!"Yao declared, frustrated with this kind of accusations from everyone.

"DA!"Ivan also said at the same time, once again contradicting what Yao said. This made Yao give a quick glare at the other. Why was Ivan so persistent at labelling them as a couple?

"Ivan, can you come with me for some seconds, aru?"The Chinese finally asked.

"What? But with pleasure my beauti—"

Ivan didn't even have the chance to finish his sentence because Yao harshly pulled him by his scarf in direction to the kitchen.

Surprised with this strange action (and how Yao was pretty strong), Ivan wondered why was Yao in such a worry of bringing him to the kitchen. Although, it didn't take much long for the Russian to imagine a reason…maybe Yao also secretly wanted to be finally alone with him? And since they couldn't get rid of Francis, he decided to take them to a private place? Ivan hoped that this was the fantastic reason.

Once in the kitchen, the Asian made sure to close the door, which only gave more hope to Ivan's thoughts.

"You wanted to talk to me all alone Yao-Yao?"Ivan inquired with a chime, eager to see what Yao was expecting them to do.

"Yes, what is the matter with you?" The Chinese exclaimed angrily, which made the blond confused. That wasn't what he hoped for…

"What?"

"Why are you telling all those strange stuff to Francis? This will only make him assume stupid and embarrassing theories aru! Is there something bothering you? Why are you acting so strange?"

Ivan was shocked to hear such an accusation coming from Yao.

"You are the one acting strange! Why are you encouraging Francis' flirting da?"Ivan demanded, still irritated about this subject.

"What? I am not encouraging Francis to flirt with me aru!"Yao snapped, unhappy with these stupid accusations.

"Yes you are! You are blushing cutely at his remarks and you won't stop him of taking pictures of you!"

"That doesn't mean I am encouraging him to flirt with me!"Yao replied in rage. The last thing he would do was to encourage Francis to flirt with him! He truly wanted for the damn French to stop with this and to punch his face every time he would take pictures of him. Unfortunately he couldn't, because of his job! He hated this; however he also really disliked Ivan's accusations. Francis did the same thing yesterday and the Russian didn't do a single thing about it! Why was today so different?

"Maybe not! But it still gives him ideas."Ivan pointed while sulking.

"W-why do you care aru? This does not concern you! In fact, it's none of your business who is flirting with me or not."Yao stated frustrated with this discussion. He couldn't understand why Ivan was so upset and anger with something that was totally not concerning him.

For the second time of the day, Ivan was truly hurt; he thought that Yao didn't care about him. In the end, today had turned out to be a horrible day, he hated it.

The Chinese quickly glanced at the other, he didn't like seeing Ivan sulking like this, but he simply couldn't accept his reactions.

"Also, stop saying such weird stuff about us!" Yao quietly muttered before heading to the door.

"Wait Yao!"

Ivan tried to stop the waiter before he would leave, but he was too quick on his actions that he accidentally tripped over something that was on the ground. Instead of gripping on Yao, he gripped over a silver tray that had tea and fell on the ground with the tea spilled on him.

"HAAA!"

Yao was actually the only one who screamed. He didn't understand what exactly happened; nevertheless he knew that the poor Russian must be in pain with being burnt.

"I-Ivan! A-are you okay?"Yao asked deeply worried, completely forgetting the frustration he had some seconds ago.

"It burns…"Ivan said with a weak smile.

"Aiyaa, come with me!"

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><p><em><strong>Sorry about the long wait for updating this chapter, I had to take care of something first. X_x recently I have not much time to myself OTL Anyway, I will do my best to update the next chapters a little faster!<strong>_

_**Poor Ivan seems to have a difficult day, but, who knows? Maybe it won't be horrible all day~ ;D **_


	15. Chapter 15

_**Chapter 15**_

Without losing a second, Yao brought Ivan to the employee lounge. If the waiter remembered correctly, this was where they kept the first-aid kit.

"Sit here aru."Yao gestured the other to sit on a small couch and gave him a towel.

The towel that Yao offered Ivan was unfortunately dry, but, for the moment, it was the only thing he could offer to help him. For now, it was way better than nothing. At least, Ivan could use it to dry his hair and clothes.

On the other hand, the Russian took the towel with a small grimace on his face. The burning sensation was causing so much pain to Ivan, but the fact that his clothes were also wet was bothering him to no end. No matter what, the blond had to conclude that it had been a pretty bad day for him; he never thought he would suffer like this.

"Where are you hurt aru? Did you get cut?"The Chinese rapidly asked with a worried tone. From what he saw, the cup of tea fell on Ivan and shattered. Therefore, Yao couldn't ignore the possibility that Ivan might have been cut during the accident.

"N-no, it just really burns…especially on my shoulders… "The blond answered. Yao was a little relieved to hear this; at least he could forget the option of Ivan being cut.

However, the Asian still wondered how in the world the recent accident happened…

Who would be careless enough to leave a plate of hot tea right on the edge of a counter? It didn't take a long time for Yao's brain to come to the conclusion that it was probably none other than Mathias. In fact, now that he thought about it, it was definitely not the first time he warned the Dane to be careful with that.

But did Mathias listen to him? _No_! He _never_ listened to him! And what happened? A client was hurt. And it could have been worse; Ivan could have been severely injured by the shattered glass. Yao couldn't help but to be frustrated by the way Mathias could be so careless. That bastard will hear him complain about this later.

"It hurts less now...but I can still feel the burning sensation."Ivan suddenly explained in a childlike voice.

"Don't worry about it!"Yao reassured, understanding Ivan's suffering. The Russian did got on his nerves this afternoon, but Ivan certainly didn't deserve that! Poor Ivan looked so miserable. He looked like a child who has been wounded; Yao only wanted to give him a hug.

"I'm going to get you a wet towel aru. It might help." The Chinese added, realising that it might be a better solution. He still needed to find the first-aid kit, but he wasn't exactly certain of where the emergency kit was…which, sadly, wasn't helpful…

Yao hurriedly went to get a wet towel that was in the kitchen and offered it to Ivan. Of course, he knew that this wasn't going to really help his injured customer and that he should search for the kit.

"Thank you…"Ivan simply said.

"I think the first-aid kit is somewhere around there aru!" Yao remarked, deciding to start the search by checking the drawers of a small cabinet that was at the other side of the room.

"You 'think'?" The Russian repeated, unsure of the meaning of this. What was the point of having an emergency kit, if they didn't know where it was during emergency situations?

"Aiyaa! Stop being anxious! I'm going to find it!" The Chinese replied.

Ivan looked at Yao while waiting semi-patiently for something that will ease his pain. In some attempt to distract himself from the burning wound, he glanced around the room to realise how fancy it was, especially for an employee lounge. Even the small sofa he was sitting on was so comfortable. The employees were lucky to have such a fancy place… but if he thought about it, with the price they sell the beverages and the delicacies this place better be fancy.

But in the end, as much as he tried to distract himself, he couldn't forget about how much it hurt. He just wanted Yao to hurry up and give him something that will cure his suffering.

"Yao, are you almost…"

Before the Russian finished his sentence, he glanced at the other to see a rather unexpected view. Yao was leaned down while searching in the last drawer, but from where Ivan was, he had the perfect view of Yao's butt...and now, he wasn't capable of taking his eyes off of it. Plus, the maid dress was so short that if Ivan tilted his head a little, he was capable to have a glimpse of Yao's underwear…

"Here it is!" Yao snapped, glad and relieved to have found the first-aid kit. In addition, he also found a box of tissues at the same time.

"There you go—Aiyaa! Your nose is bleeding!"The waiter screamed when he saw the other having a nosebleed.

"D-da…I think I'll use these tissues now…"Ivan said with a small smile, pointing the tissue box Yao recently found.

"What is wrong with you aru?" The waiter quickly gave him the box, completely confused with Ivan's sudden nosebleed.

"I-it still burns a little…" The blond commented, hoping it will change the subject. It was probably better if the Asian didn't know the reason behind the nosebleed. Nonetheless, Ivan could confirm that his little Yao absolutely knew how to distract him from his pain.

"Aiyaa, you are such a weird person aru."The Chinese sighed, slightly discouraged. He sat on the couch next to the Russian and began to clean the other's nose.

Meanwhile, Ivan couldn't believe how much he felt like he was in heaven despite the fact he was still suffering. Yao was so close to him, taking care of him and he even had the chance to have a small glance at Yao's underwear.

"You should take off your shirt!"Yao suddenly said, snapping Ivan out of his thoughts.

"W-what?"Ivan asked, surprised to hear such words coming from his crush.

"It will help you more if you put the cold towel directly on where it burns. After that, you can put some cream."The Asian explained.

Ivan didn't wait to be asked a second time and did what the Asian told him too. "My scarf is also wet…"

"I'll make sure your scarf and shirt dries before the end of the day…"Yao sighed, sitting closer to Ivan to look at the other's burned shoulders. The Russian's skin was a little red and, according to what Ivan told him, it was still painful. So it means that it was only a first degree burnt, which was the least severe one. At least, it really made Yao more reassured; now he was confident that Ivan's injury wasn't serious.

"Don't worry! You only have a first degree burnt aru. I'm sure the lotion can take care of it…"Yao confirmed somehow enthusiastically, before noticing that his hands were rubbing Ivan's shoulders…and this is when he realised that Ivan was somehow more muscular than he thought…

"That's good to know."The blond expressed with a small relieved expression. He took the cold towel to put it on his shoulder, but then he noticed that Yao was still touching his shoulders and was looking at his chest seemingly in deep thoughts.

"Yao?"Ivan called; however, the waiter still seemed to be concentrated.

"Yao-Yao?" Ivan asked once again.

"H-ha what?"The Chinese replied, finally snapping out of his thoughts.

"Is everything okay?"

"Y-Yes, everything is okay…why are you asking?"Yao stuttered, rapidly taking his hands off of Ivan's shoulders.

"You were staring at my chest for a while."Ivan announced.

"W-what? No I wasn't! You are imagining stuff aru!"The other denied.

"Could it be that Yao-Yao likes to look at my chest da?"Ivan chuckled, pleased with this thought. He used this opportunity to slowly come closer to the Chinese.

"Aiyaa! Stop saying stupidities and start to take care of yourself! Weren't you hurt?"Yao shouted, his cheeks being completely red. For someone who was injured, the Russian seemed to forget about his priorities.

The blond simply let a small laugh; he definitely would never be tired of seeing Yao blushing cutely like this.

"It feels good." Ivan chimed, finally placing the cold towel on his shoulders. Even if he could still feel the burning sensation, he had to admit that it really helped.

"Don't forget to put the lotion after aru! It will be better."The waiter added, offering him the cream.

"Can you put the lotion on me, Yao?"Ivan inquired while approaching toward the other closer. After all, he was still injured, so he decided that he should benefice of Yao's tender and soft touch to cure him. Who knows when will be the next time he would have this opportunity? He better completely abuse of this chance right now before it was too late.

"Why would I? You are old enough to take care of yourself!"The Chinese pointed.

"Please?"The Russian begged with an expression that Yao couldn't refuse.

"Fine…"The Chinese sighed. He was starting to hate how Ivan used this expression on him."But don't get used to this treatment!"The Chinese added with a strict tone once he saw Ivan's sudden smile.

The waiter came closer to Ivan and decided to _only_ look at the Russian's injury. Unfortunately, after a while, he couldn't help but to slowly stare at Ivan's bare chest again and he rapidly felt his cheeks being completely red again.

_Why do I feel so strange aru? This isn't normal!_ Yao panicked mentally. He glanced at the blond to see that this one was looking at him with a rather intense look. This simply worsened Yao's condition.

Eventually, the Asian decided to try to calm himself and finally put the lotion on Ivan's shoulders. After all, there wasn't a thing to make a serious issue about; he was just helping a customer who was wounded. There was nothing wrong with that! So, the Chinese delicately rubbed the other's shoulders with the cream.

"Haaa, it's refreshing."The Russian moaned. Usually he wasn't fond of cold, but this was truly helping allay his pain. Plus, the feeling of Yao's hands on his shoulders was something he truly liked. Yao's hands were so soft…

"I-is your chest also painful aru?"Yao inquired, quickly glancing at the other's bare chest.

"A little..."Ivan answered. Actually, his chest didn't get burnt by the boiling tea, but if he was capable to keep Yao this close to him, he didn't see why he would say the true.

Consequently, Yao also put some cream on the chest; rubbing and massaging it. Though, slowly Ivan could swear that it felt like Yao was playing with his chest. Not that he was complaining, his suffering went completely away.

"Hmmm~"The Russian moaned. He seriously wanted to stay with Yao like this forever. He slowly and smoothly brought his crush closer to him to the point that the Asian was completely on his lap.

Unfortunately, Yao stopped what he was doing as soon as he noticed their suspicious position. But, even if the smaller one didn't seem of approving this, he didn't completely push away from him. No matter what, the Asian was still on his lap.

"I-I think, it should be enough."Yao murmured. "you can keep the lotion since you'll need to put it frequently. And you should probably put a bandage on it later to prevent contamination aru."He added still looking at the burning part.

"Thank you so much~ Yao-Yao sure knows how to take good care of me da?"Ivan exclaimed, beaming a smile and enlacing his arms around the other's waist. His little sunflower was a _very_ good nurse.

"I-it's not like I have the choice aru. I'm only doing my job and make sure that my customer is okay." Yao replied, slowly pulling away from Ivan. Since he had always been the "older brother" of his family, he was simply used to take care of people; it was something that became a habit for him.

"I really appreciate that, Yao. Thank you."Ivan added, pulling his closer until there wasn't much space left between their bodies. The Russian hoped that they could stay in this position for a little longer, especially since Yao wasn't protesting against it.

"…"

On the other hand, the Chinese didn't know what to say at the moment. He actually had some admiration for the fact that Ivan had always kept a smile, despite being in such pain. Yao began to stare into Ivan's eyes and gradually replaced his hands on the other's shoulders.

No matter what, to Ivan, Yao always looked so adorable with his flustered cheeks and embarrassing expression. Encouraged by the small gestures given from the waiter, Ivan slowly approached his face closer to his crush…and much to his surprise, Yao did the same.

Only one thought came to Ivan's mind: Will they (finally) kiss?

There was almost no distance between their faces… He could only feel his heart skipping beats, he was so eager to feel Yao's lips.

Sadly for Ivan, at the same moment some unexpected person with a very horrible timing decided to enter the employee lounge.

"Hey, Yao are you—"

"…"

With a mix of disastrous and shocked expression on their faces, both Ivan and Yao looked at the person who entered the room.

_Damn it! It was Mathias!_

It didn't take much time, for Yao to distance himself from the Russian. As a result, Ivan quickly gave a big murderous glare to the Dane who ruined what could have been one of the best moments of his life.

And it seemed that Mathias was indeed speechless at the scene. Apparently, he wasn't expecting to find his co-worker on the lap of a half naked customer…

"Oookay! Pretend like I didn't come!"The Dane suddenly broke the extremely awkward silence that was in the room.

"No, NO! I-it's not what it looks like aru!"Yao screamed, though he had to admit that Ivan and he were indeed in a rather…suggestive position.

"Don't worry, I'm leaving! But Yao, seriously, don't do this on the employee lounge and especially not in the middle of the day. The manager can come at any moment! If you two want to have a nice and sexy time, I suggest you to do it at the end of the day when everyone is gone."The Dane advised with a sheepish smile, before going away.

"W-wait, w-we aren't doing anything like this! "Yao desperately shouted, hoping that his co-worker would listen to him.

"It's possible to stay after the café is closed da?"Ivan suddenly asked, finding this information interesting. Maybe if he would stay after the closing time with Yao, they could continue (_peacefully_!) what they were about to do before they were _rudely_ interrupted?

"Aiyaaa! Why are you asking this?" Yao snapped.

"kolkolkolkol~ People here know how to ruin a nice moment da?" Ivan remarked with a bitter tone.

"W-what are talking about? Nothing was happening between us aru" The Chinese denied, hiding his completely red face.

Nothing? Well if this was "nothing", Ivan absolutely wanted to experience having "something" with Yao. He couldn't help but to keep in mind the fact that Yao didn't do anything against them being suggestively close when they were about to kiss.

His heart was racing of just thinking about this moment over and over again; remembering their position, and the sensation of Yao's hands on him.

"I-I'll have to go aru! Whatever you do, don't get out of here without wearing your shirt. Am I clear?" The Asian warned the other, before leaving the place. He needed to completely clear his mind to continue with this day and he knew that staying in the same room as Ivan wasn't going to help him.

He had this awful feeling that some inappropriate and dishonourable rumours concerning Ivan and he will be spread because of what Mathias saw. It seemed that in any case, his workplace will get more complicated every day.

"Okay." Ivan agreed without thinking, still half dreaming about what could have happened if nobody would interrupt them.

* * *

><p><em><strong>I have to say that I am sorry that I take so long to update! I somehow lacked the motivation for a little while, because I wasn't feeling good, but now it's somehow back QwQ <strong>_

_**But anyway, I hope you guys liked this chapter lol ;) From now on there will be a little bit more of Rochu in the chapters ^-^ (YAY!) Hope you guys will like the outcome of it. ((And I hope that not many of you hate Mathias for being such a troll and ruin the moment x,D))**_

_**I'm actually going on vacation for a couple of days, this afternoon xD lol (I'm quite in a rush, but I absolutely wanted to at least update something since I am sadly not updating fast). Hopefully I will come back with the energy and motivation I had before =,) Sorry about the delay everyone. QwQ And thanks everyone for your encouragements despite the fact that I don't update as fast as I used too ;w; I really appreciate that. **_


	16. Chapter 16

_**Yay, new chapter! Yes, I know, I know; it was about time! The last chapter was posted one month ago, I know, it's really sad ;n; **_

_**I seriously don't know how to thank you all for your patience and to all those who fav, review, alert my story or me uwu It makes me happy ;7;**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 16<strong>_

Yao first came to the kitchen with the thought of yelling at his co-worker for being so careless. After all, it was Mathias' fault that Ivan had been burnt and hurt.

Plus, the Chinese absolutely wanted to talk to the Dane before he would spread rumours about the recent "awkward event" that might cause him more embarrassing turmoil.

However, when the Asian arrived in the kitchen, Mathias was nowhere to be found. In addition, Yao also noticed that there were still shattered glasses on the floor along with spilled tea from the latest mess. So in the end, Mathias didn't even bother to clean the mess that he caused…

Frustrated by the lack of responsibilities of his co-worker, Yao took a broom and started to clean the small damage before someone else would get hurt.

Why was he always the one who had to take care of troubles?

At least, cleaning always helped him to calm down; which was a good thing since he could now focus on calming his mind before continuing with his day. Not too long ago, his face was only some inches away from Ivan's …and all this while being in a rather suggestive position on the other's lap…

Only remembering this moment made Yao's face turn red rapidly again. He only wondered what he was thinking when he was doing this. He was only taking care of Ivan and, before he knew it, he unconsciously got closer to the other…and if Mathias wouldn't have walked into the room they probably would have…

Yao quickly shocked his head. Thinking about this was definitely _not_ helping calming his mind. What he needed to do at the moment was to find a way to talk to Ivan before the other would start to get some ideas. Though, the more he thought about it, the more he didn't knew what to say or to explain to the Russian. No matter what, he had to admit he didn't really say anything against the fact that they were being so close when the event happened…

Maybe he could pretend like nothing happened? But he knew that Ivan would not let this go easily. Why things were always complicated when it concerned his stalker? All this was only making the Asian even more anxious!

He took a huge breath in hope that it will help him relax a little. Yao would have to simply find a way to solve his problems eventually, but for now he should concentrate on his job, especially since he didn't made any progress with cleaning.

Although, he was still anxious, he continued to clean the mess until he noticed a school bag that was near the counter where Ivan fell. After a few seconds, Yao shockingly came to the realisation that it was probably this bag that made the Russian fall…

"Aiyaa! Stupid Mathias!"He complained to himself, recognizing the bag. It was unbelievable; his damn co-worker caused him so many troubles today!

"Kolkolkolkolkokol~ So this is what made me fall?"A cold familiar voice pointed out bitterly.

Yao turned around to surprisingly notice that Ivan was standing right next him. However, what shocked the waiter more was the fact that the Russian came here bare-chested, even if Yao clearly specified him to not leave the room like that.

"Aiyaa! What are you doing here aru? I told you to stay in the employee lounge!"The Chinese rapidly replied slightly panicking.

"B-but, it's cold there. I am not used to be without my scarf. So I feel a little weird."The blond whined while shivering a little.

"…and you don't feel weird when you're not wearing your shirt?" Yao muttered quietly, not understanding how can the Russian feel strange about not wearing his scarf, but be completely fine walking bare-chested like this.

"What?" Ivan asked confused by what the Asian was muttering.

"I can't let you be at my workplace half-naked!" Yao scolded the other while ignoring his small question. "You'll cause me trouble aru! You have to go to the employee lounge and wait there." The Chinese quickly pushed Ivan back into the employee's room. Unfortunately, it was quite a difficult thing to do since the other resisted and didn't want to move.

"But I don't want to wait there!"Ivan whined childishly again.

"Didn't you order a cake and coffee? I'll give it to you in just a second. You can eat it while waiting for your clothes to be dry."The waiter proposed, remembering that his client did order before the "accident" happened. He went to prepare the Russian's order in hope that it will change his mind and convince him to stay there.

"But it's not the same thing…"

"Why?" Yao inquired, surprised and exasperated at the same time.

"I won't be able to talk to you."Ivan explained. In fact, he didn't really care for his order, now, he only wanted Yao to come back so that they might continue what they were about to do.

"I'll come to see you after I finish cleaning."Yao sighed while giving the order. The Asian honestly thought that it was a very fair deal. After all, he was taking time off his work to take care of Ivan and make sure he was okay, only to make him happy.

"…"

Unfortunately, it seemed that Ivan didn't share the same definition of "fair" as him.

"What? You are not happy with that?"The Chinese questioned, noticing the obvious unhappy expression of his customer.

"No. It will be better if you stay with me while I eat da?"The Russian suggested, hoping that it would convince his crush to stay with him longer.

"Aiya!"

Sometimes Yao felt like speaking with Ivan was like speaking with a child.

"…And feed me while being on my lap, da?" Ivan added casually like if this was a plain normal thing to ask.

"WHAT? Forget about it!"The Chinese rapidly replied.

"But Yao-Yao, I am injured."

"You might be burnt, but not to the point of not being able to eat by yourself!"Yao remarked, quite shocked to hear Ivan asking for such things. Although, he had to admit that he should have been used to Ivan's weird antics by now. Nonetheless, this Russian came up with such ideas that he never knew how to react properly. Ivan was definitely one of a kind.

"Okay…"The blond said with a small pout; however this wasn't what would make him give up yet. "So can I have a kiss instead?"He asked more cheerfully.

"Aiya! You are asking way too much!"The Chinese yelled, his cheeks being completely red. This only made him remember what was about to happen a _few_ minutes ago. Yao didn't have the time to think about it clearly, though it was obvious that his stalker wasn't about to forget it soon.

"But I am injured and it hurts!"

"A kiss will not solve anything!"

"Well if we don't try, we will never know if it works or not."

"I-I'm not going to kiss you!"Yao concluded, hoping his answer was definitely clear.

On the other hand, this completely crushed Ivan's hopes. Why was Yao against something that he was encouraging only some minutes ago? He could understand that it might be a typical behaviour coming from shy Yao, but the Russian was so eager to be intimate with him that he couldn't see what there was to be embarrassed about.

"But Yao-Yao, why can't you stay with me? It's not like you have other clients to take care of."The Russian asked, deciding to not give up. Since Yao seemed pretty resistant on staying here, he thought that he should start by convincing the other to stay longer. And considering the fact that they were still alone, he couldn't stop thinking that he might have another opportunity of being intimate again.

"What are you talking about? I spent all this time with you instead of taking care of my other clients! Why are you still unhappy?"The waiter snapped, slightly frustrated. "I still haven't given Francis his bill and—"

At the exact instant, Yao completely stopped speaking when he realised what he just said. He was too preoccupied with taking care of Ivan that he completely forgot about Francis and his other clients!

In deep shock over this realisation, he unconsciously dropped the broom and glanced at the clock. It has been _thirty minutes_! Thirty minutes that he didn't see his customers…If it carries on like this, he will definitely lose his job…

" Aiyaa! I have to go!"The Chinese exclaimed rushing toward the door and hoping that no one will complain about his absence.

However, as soon as he wanted to get out of here, Ivan held him, preventing the waiter to escape.

"NO YAO! Don't go! Don't dump me for Francis! Kolkolkolkolkol~" The Russian shouted, angered with this horrible thought.

"What are you talking about again? I have to do my job! Let me go!"Yao ordered.

"Kolkolkolkol~ Yao you can't leave me. I just got burnt by boiling water. Now I can't stay in the same room as boiling stuff; it's going to be awkward."

The waiter looked at the other in disbelieve because of this overly strange excuse, however after a while he realised that Ivan was seriously using this as a real reason.

"What kind of excuse is that aru?"The Chinese inquired, astonished to hear that Ivan seemed pretty serious with using his lame justification. After some attempts to escape the Russian's grip, Yao had finally got the chance to get out of it and be free. Unfortunately for him, at the last second, Ivan pulled the apron of Yao's dress.

In frustration, the waiter rapidly gave the blond a glare that obviously demanded the apron back, but regardless of that, the Russian still kept it.

"IVAN, GIVE ME THAT!"Yao screamed, he thought that the glare he gave was obvious, alas the blond still didn't seem to want to return the apron.

"Only if Yao-Yao agrees to stay with me!"

"You know I need this to work. Ivan, you have to give my apron aru! It's part of my uniform! If I don't have it, I might be in trouble."Yao explained, trying to sound as calm as possible. Things were truly not going well right now, if Yao would lose his job because of Ivan, he will never talk to him again! Though, even if he complained, he had some part of him that was sure that Ivan could somehow understand his situation. In the few days he came here, Ivan proved to him that he was capable to be really understandable sometimes.

And thankfully for Yao, this was one of the times that Ivan understood. The Russian let a small discouraged sigh and gave him the apron with a saddened expression.

"Thank you."The Chinese simply replied, he took his apron as fast as he could, fearing that the other would decide to suddenly change his mind.

"Yao, do you promise to come back to your master soon da?"The blond finally said, now having a light-hearted expression.

"I'll…hurry up…" The Asian answered slowly. Despite the cold glare Yao gave for the words he used, Ivan responded to this with a big smile.

"But you have to go to the employee lounge while I'm gone."He added, pointing the particular room.

"Okay..."The client agreed, with an unpleasing expression.

"And whatever you do don't get out of here without your shirt aru!"

* * *

><p>When Yao hastily came back, he was thankful to see that Francis was still there.<p>

"H-hey…" The Chinese started the conversation. He didn't know what to say to show his sincere apology. He only hoped that he wouldn't get too many complaints because of this.

"Ha, there you are Yao! I thought you got lost in the kitchen."The French joked.

"I-I'm very sorry aru. I-I got distracted with something."The other admitted sheepishly.

"It's very fine. It was your break after all. The other waiter gave me the rest."

Break? Did his recent absence counted as his break? That wouldn't be fair since he was actually taking care of a customer that was injured instead of having a break.

Nonetheless, it seemed like Mathias was kind enough to take care of things while he wasn't here. Well, at least he wouldn't be in trouble for his absence; the Dane could be really useful when he wanted to.

"So I will leave. Thanks for everything. See you tomorrow at school."

Yao couldn't believe his eyes, finally the last client was about to leave! That means he would definitely have a relaxing and tranquil evening. It was the best news he heard of all day! He couldn't be any more grateful for that.

"Have a nice evening!" Yao replied, with a hint of optimism in his voice. He was only happy that everything could be quiet and calm now. Unfortunately, as soon as he thought that, a flash appeared which completely puzzled him once again.

"Hon hon~ The last one for the day!"The French blond laughed.

"HAA! I told you to stop taking pictures aru!"The Chinese snapped, extremely annoyed by Francis' habit.

"Kolkolkolkolkol~"

…And apparently, he wasn't the only one being annoyed…

Afraid of knowing what in the world was going to happen; Yao slowly looked around to see that Ivan was next to him still half-naked and was glaring at the other blond.

"Aiyaa! Ivan didn't I told you to wait in the employee longue? You can't walk here like this!" Yao scolded him, trying to push the Russian back into the kitchen. The only thing he was relieved for was the fact that there were no other clients in the café at this hour.

Completely ignoring Yao's protestations, Ivan harshly took Francis' cell phone out of his hands. There was no way he would let Francis return home while having on his position so many pictures of cute little Yao.

"I-Ivan, what are you doing? Give him back his cell phone."The waiter ordered, trying to not panic. He couldn't understand what this Russian was doing; though, Yao was certain that if Ivan continued with this comportment bad things would happen.

Even if Ivan was bringing an eerie atmosphere to the room, Francis, on the other hand, didn't seem to be affected by it. The French wasn't saying or doing a thing, which greatly surprised Yao.

In reality, the blue eyed blond was puzzled to see Ivan wearing not much on him. And now that he noticed it, Yao's hair was in pretty bad shape too and his uniform did look like someone had played with it... In the end, all this seemed quite subjective…It didn't take long for the blond to have a hypothesis of what Yao might have been distracted during his break…

"W-why are you looking at us like this?" The Asian inquired, not understanding why the French was consecutively looking at Ivan and him instead of actually doing something.

"Haaa…" He expressed, sounding like someone who finally realised a very great discovery.

"What?"

"If I promise to not bother you two anymore, would you give me back my cell phone?" Francis simply asked kindly.

"Kolkolkolkolkol~ I won't return your cell phone while you have pictures of Yao-Yao on it."

Francis was expecting that reply, but not Yao, who seemed to be very surprised and embarrassed.

"Ivan what are you doing?" The waiter demanded. To a certain point of view, Ivan's action could be regarded as stealing.

"I will return it, once I delete the pictures da?" The Russian clarified.

"So you _will_ give it back?"

"Of course." Ivan confirmed with a big smile.

The Chinese gave a big sigh; he was somehow relieved that Ivan's common sense wasn't that bad and that, at least, Francis didn't take it badly and was only smiling.

Both the French and the waiter looked at Ivan waiting for him to delete the pictures and give the cell phone back, however, after a little while nothing happened…Ivan only stayed there with his usual smile… it seemed that deleting the pictures wasn't part of Ivan's plan for the moment…

"So you can go away now, da? Bye-bye, have a nice evening!" The Russian quickly added, before the other blond could demand any more explanations. He hastily pushed the French out of the café and rudely closed the door on his face.

Meanwhile, Yao stood there bewildered by what was going on. In less than five minutes, Ivan took Francis's cell phone and just threw him out of the café with no protestations!

All this was surely unbelievable; however, what surprised Yao even more was the fact that no fight or argument happened.

"See my Yao-Yao, you are all safe now da?" The Russian chimed, giving him a sweet smile once he was certain that the French wouldn't come back.

Ivan completely ignored Yao's shocked expression and gave him a big hug. In less than a second, Yao was enlaced by the Russian's arms for the second time of the day and once again he didn't know how to react to that.

"W-what?"

"Come on, you two, just get a room already!"Mathias, who was passing by, playfully suggested to them.

"AIYAA!"

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><p><em><strong>Well all this for that, I have to admit that it took me more time than it should to complete and finish this chapter OTL. I was rather unmotivated I guess. I just hope I can update the chapters faster OTL -_-lll (If I take another month to post next chapter, you can throw rocks at me x,D lol)<strong>_

_**However, I still would like to thank everyone for your support. It means **__**a lot **__**to me and without it, I probably would have take way more time to finish this chapter (as sad as it is…).**_

_**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it nonetheless. This story is continuing, and as I promised, I'm going to make it somehow more Rochunesque moments in the following chapters =)**_


	17. Chapter 17

_**Can I fail even more at updating my fics? OTL**_

_**Once again guys, thanks for every nice reviews, faves and follow =) It really means a lot to me. I seriously really want to give you all a big hug uwu  
><strong>_

_**I hope you guys will like this chapter, it was so long to do x,D **_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 17<strong>_

Yao was sweeping the floor; waiting patiently for the time to close the café so that he could return home. The rest of the evening was thankfully calm and the only client left was Ivan who was quietly finishing drinking his coffee. In addition, Mathias decided to be kind enough to stay until everything was clean as a way to apologize for the messes he had done.

In a couple of minutes, another (yet rather strange and exhausting) day of work would be finished. At least, it wasn't as worse as yesterday, but Yao had to admit that a lot of stuff happened…and he still wasn't certain of what to exactly think of this day…and also his stalker for that matter…

"Well I finished cleaning the kitchen, there is nothing much left to do. So I'm leaving, okay?" The Dane announced, waving goodbye at the two, as he rushed toward the exit.

"Sure. Have a good evening aru."The Asian answered, not bothering to stop his work to give a proper goodbye to the other.

"Good evening as well to both of you…And don't stay up too late you two!"Mathias added with a sly grin.

"Thank—!" Yao was about to give the formal answer, but then he actually realised the meaning of this last sentence…And he wasn't happy!

He gave a quick glare to his co-worker; even after explaining countless of times what exactly happened between Ivan and him earlier, and to explicitly clarify that there was nothing between them, Mathias still didn't believed him.

However, it seemed that the waiter was the only one affected by this remark, since Ivan simply gave a small chuckle; the Russian didn't seem bothered at all.

"H-have a good night."The Chinese plainly said once again, deciding to ignore the meaning of the last comment.

Mathias left the café and soon the room was completely silent. On one side of the room, the last customer was finishing drinking his coffee and, on the other, the waiter was finishing cleaning the floor…for some reason none of them wanted to break the silence and, in some way, Yao was truly grateful for that. He liked to end a day of work with a quiet atmosphere; especially when it was a day exhausting like this one.

The only thing left to do was cleaning Ivan's cup of coffee; however, Yao decided that he would leave this for the employee who will work tomorrow. Therefore, it was the time to close the café and leave.

"Here, Ivan, your shirt is perfectly dry now."He finally said, giving the Russian his clothes back.

It took a while for the shirt and the scarf to be dried and, during all this time, Ivan _definitely_ didn't want to return to the employee lounge even after Francis was gone. Since there were no other clients at the café, Yao decided to let him stay here. It would have been something really awkward and complicated to explain if he had the misfortune of receiving a sudden visit from his manager during the evening…although it could have caused him some problems, he had to admit that he couldn't force Ivan to put his not-yet-dried shirt; the blond could had caught a cold.

"Thank you, Yao."The Russian replied glad to have his shirt and scarf back. Now he could finally be warm again. Though, instead of getting dressed, he looked curiously at the waiter.

"Yao, are you sure you want me to put my shirt back da?"He inquired, with an inquisitive and playful tone. If he remembered correctly, his crush did seem quite interested by looking at his chest earlier that evening…he willingly couldn't ignore the possibility that Yao might have been impressed.

"What are you talking about?! It's not like I care or anything."The Chinese rapidly commented, deciding to look away from his stalker and hoping that the other wouldn't see his flustered face.

"So this means that I can stay like this~"Ivan announced, deciding to tease the other.

"Put the shirt now!"Yao suddenly ordered with a strict tone.

In the end, it seemed that Yao _did_ care. With a small laugh, Ivan put back his shirt; after all, he didn't want to _distract_ his little sunflower…anyway, not for the moment…

"Do I have to go outside so that you can close the café?" Ivan wondered, realising that it was already the closing time.

"No, it's okay. You can stay until I get out aru. I'm almost finishing anyway."

Even if he wasn't allowed to close the café while there was still a client, Yao decided to make an exception for today. It wouldn't make a difference anyway; the stubborn Russian wouldn't go home without him. Every day, the Asian couldn't help to think of how ridiculous this habit of waiting for him was. No matter what, Ivan was persistent of always escorting him home. With the awful day the blond had, Yao would expect him to leave and return home to rest; nonetheless the other was far from agreeing with that.

While the waiter was finishing cleaning what was left, Ivan couldn't help but to be happy about the fact that his crush let him stay.

Maybe Yao did have plans on staying after the closing time so that they could continue with the _nice moment_ they had earlier…it was indeed the perfect opportunity since they were all alone. With a smile, he took his wallet to pay for the bill.

"Ivan, today you don't have to pay!"The other stopped him.

"What?"

"It's free on the house. It's a sort of apology for all the trouble the café caused to you." And it was a very fair policy according to Yao.

"Wouldn't they cut that out of your paycheck?"

"No, it doesn't work like that here. It's really a gift from the place." Yao confirmed, however the Russian was still taking his money out.

"Ivan, what did I just say?"The waiter remarked slightly bothered.

"But this is for you."The blond stated, offering the usual twenty-dollar to Yao.

"Stop it! I don't need a tip!"

"Of course you need one! You took good care of me when I was injured. And I really felt some pleasure from that da?"The Russian declared teasingly. It didn't take long for Yao's face to be completely red.

"Aiyaa! There you are talking about stupid stuff again."The Chinese complained while looking away embarrassed. Ivan truly wasn't ashamed to talk about such things which always troubled him. How could he ever convince the stalker to stop saying things like this when this one, in contrary, always thought it was amusing to tease him?

Once more, in the end, Yao didn't found the way to let Ivan keep the money, which he thought was very terrible. He worked for a reason; he absolutely didn't need Ivan to give him that. He promised that he would eventually thought of a way to repay the blond somehow.

"Let's get out. I can't wait to be at home right now."The smaller one said, more than ready to leave the place.

"Aww, so we can't stay here any longer?"Ivan sadly asked. It looked like the other had no plans of staying with him here…

"What are you taking about aru? I have to close the café. The sooner we are out, the sooner we will be home and the better it will be."

So much for the "sexy time after closing hour" opportunity that Ivan was hoping to have…

"Wait. Before we go, I have to change my clothes."The waiter murmured to himself as a reminder, unfortunately, his stalker heard this and it was enough for Ivan to regain his enthusiasm once more.

"Ha! Does Yao-Yao need help getting undressed?"He inquired beaming a smile that was way too big for Yao's liking.

"No, I don't need any!"Yao quickly answered.

"Are you certain?"The Russian chimed while still having a slightly perverted smile.

"Yes! I absolutely don't need your help!"The Chinese clearly confirmed, hoping it was enough for Ivan to stop asking those questions.

Yao made sure to lock the door of the room twice before changing. He suspected the other one to stalk him while getting undress; honestly, it was something that wouldn't surprise him. Although, if he locked the door there was no way Ivan could see him…unluckily for the Russian.

Since the Asian was too "shy" to accept his assistance, the blond waited patiently for the waiter to finish. He simply didn't understand why Yao couldn't walk with his uniform outside. He was incredibly cute in it. Sadly, his crush was against this idea.

After the quick change of outfit and after Yao made sure to perfectly lock the door of the café, the two were, at last, ready to return home.

"You know, you don't need to wait for me every single time. You should have gone home by now aru."The Chinese mentioned.

"No, I have to make sure you return home safe."

"I already told you that I don't need you to take care of me!"

"But I did a good job today! I saved you from Francis and his perverted schemes da?" Ivan explained with a very proud tone. He seriously felt like he did the best action in the world. He was so glad that those pictures were in his possession and not Francis'.

"Aiyaa! you are overacting again aru! Francis was acting like he always does. He flirts like that with Arthur, girls and well …with almost everyone…" Even if Yao was really annoyed by the French today, he had to admit that it could have been worse…_way_ worse! Unfortunately, it was obvious that Ivan didn't see it like that.

"kolkolkolkol~ You are defending him again!"He said bitterly.

"I am _not_ defending him aru!"Yao quickly replied. "I am just saying that your actions weren't necessary. He was about to go away anyway."He added, hoping it would calm the Russian.

"But he didn't stop taking pictures of you!" Ivan pointed out, quite perturbed. "Who knows what kind of horrible stuff he could have done with them da?"

What would happen if Francis had took a picture that was too much revealing? The maid dress was so short; Ivan wasn't capable of ignoring the possibilities that the French might had the chance of taking a picture that would show Yao's underwear. That would be absolutely horrible!

Nobody had the right to see Yao's underwear except from Yao and him! And maybe, _maybe_ he could tolerate Yao's mother, if she ever does the laundry, but that was the only exception!

Plus, the fact that the Chinese seemed fine with this situation was making him jealous and anger. Why wasn't Yao worried about that?

"Aiyaa! What would he do with those pictures?"The other asked, thinking that Ivan was overacting. Even if Francis had a sometimes doubtful attitude, the French did promise him that he wouldn't tell anyone about his work.

"…Hum."Was the only reply Ivan gave… was Yao truly that innocent? Did Yao _really_ wanted him to honestly tell?

And with Ivan's brief comment and expression, just at that moment, the Chinese embarrassedly realised what might be an answer…

"…F-forget about what I asked aru…"Yao replied fully flustered. As a reply, the blond let a small chuckle which made the other's cheeks to turn red very rapidly.

"…W-well, I would have found a way to stop him…"The smaller one commented, realising that Ivan didn't do something bad…In the end, his stalker was actually helping him again. He had to admit to himself that Ivan was kind, and until now Yao didn't do much to show him his gratitude. In fact, he should probably stop calling him a stalker, even if the Russian still did show signs of being one. Their relationship was closer than being simple acquaintances...as much as this was making him strangely nervous.

"A-anyway, thanks for your help Ivan…Even though I didn't need it..."He added with a more certain voice.

"You are welcome Yao. You also helped me a lot when I got hurt." Ivan had to confess that his cute maid certainly knew how to cure him.

"S-so you promise to delete those pictures?"Yao inquired.

"Don't worry about this Yao-Yao. I promise I will. Nobody will ever see them!" He will surely delete the pictures. Of course, before doing that, first he will have to find a way to make a copy of them and put it in his computer. Wouldn't it be wonderful to print pictures of beautiful Yao and put it on the walls of his room?

Thankfully for Ivan, his crush decided to trust him without a doubt.

"Are your shoulders still hurting?"The Chinese suddenly questioned, noticing that it's been a while he didn't ask about the other's injury.

"No. It's a lot better and it doesn't hurt much anymore."Ivan answered, somehow taken back by the question.

"Be sure to put the lotion more than once a day! And if it burns too much, you can put a cold wet towel on it aru. It helps a lot. Also…"

Before continuing with his suggestions, Yao realised that he was yet again acting too much brotherly...

He was so used of taking care of his younger siblings and cousins that sometimes it was like a habit for him to act like this toward others too. He rarely spent much time with people who weren't family members, so when he acted like this toward his friends, he felt strange and embarrassed. Nobody liked to hang out with someone who acted like an "annoying mother"; a definition that his little sister used more often than she should to describe him.

"W-well, keep putting the lotion more than once and you should be fine aru."The Asian finally muttered, realising that he might sound annoying with his suggestions.

"Thanks Yao, I'm really happy that you helped me! Yao-Yao is the best!"The Russian expressed with such optimism.

However, as much as Yao was glad to not sound annoying and be a help, he actually didn't felt that he deserved all the praise and thanks he got from Ivan. The other was always complimenting him for his actions, although, he had to admit that he didn't understood where Ivan got all this from, because he never did much for him.

Maybe he could think of some way to show his honest gratitude to him… they already arrived to his home; perhaps it was the moment to show him his appreciation.

"I think you deserve a recompense for your efforts today…"Yao proposed. Even if the Chinese spoke quietly, surprisingly, Ivan heard this like if it was something that the other openly shouted.

"A recompense?!"He exclaimed with a very big and joyful smile. He looked like a child who just learnt that he would receive a gift.

"Aiyaa! Don't get any extreme ideas aru! I am not going to do anything inappropriate."Yao quickly snapped, shocked to see the other with such a zealous expression.

"Aww…"

"'Awww'?!"Yao repeated, not reassured by this expression. He should have expected Ivan to have such ideas rapidly…

"But what will be my recompense da? I want to know!"He asked with the big smile he had before. A gift from Yao that wasn't inappropriate was a gift nonetheless. Obviously, the Chinese had a different definition of "inappropriate" than him; therefore, he was still eagerly curious about his recompense. What could Yao want to offer to him?

"I just came up with it aru. Don't raise your expectations too much, you might be disappointed."The Asian announced, suddenly feeling like he did a bad choice.

"I will never be disappointed by the things you will give me!"Ivan assured. Apparently the Russian was positive about that, which made Yao ponder if he would regret his decision.

"Okay, but you have been warned…"Yao sighed.

"Hmm?"

Ivan fervently looked as Yao slowly tempted to come closer to him. The smaller one tried the best he could to look at the other in the eyes; nonetheless, ultimately, he wasn't capable. The fact that Ivan was there, having his big smile and cheerful expression, made him uncomfortable and somehow nervous.

"C-close your eyes…"He ordered. Even if the blond was a little surprised, he didn't argue with Yao's orders. Not to mention that this definitely raised Ivan's expectation for the kiss he wanted for a long time.

On the other hand, since there was no more eye contact to make him nervous, Yao gradually came closer to the other's face. Unfortunately, right at the moment that he was mere inches away from Ivan…he completely froze wondering what in the world he was exactly about to do.

At the beginning, his first thought was to give Ivan the kiss he asked for…though, now that he realised that, he couldn't do something that foolish! It wasn't like there was something between them?! Why would he kiss him?! Why did he think about this in the first place?! It was like his brain was only making him do stupid things today! He definitely should just go home! However, he couldn't leave Ivan there, especially not after he promised to offer him something.

Then, the most important question came to Yao's mind; what was he going to give to Ivan now? Because he seriously didn't know what to do; he was cursing himself for all this nonsense. Then again, he could simply give him the damn kiss and finish with that. A part of him was mysterious not against it… but at the same time, another part of him, wasn't capable of doing it…

Meanwhile, Ivan, who still stood there with his eyes closed, was completely wondering what was going on. It's been almost thirty seconds that he was waiting for Yao to give him his reward, yet nothing happened. Actually, a sad thought came to him as he wondered if Yao didn't just left him there alone and dumped him. Though, from all the people he knew, Ivan faithfully believed that his crush would be the last person to do this to him. Maybe the gift was a thing instead of a kiss? Nonetheless, if it was the case, wouldn't the Asian say something instead of waiting for him to open his eyes? All this didn't make sense at all!

A little tired of waiting, Ivan decided to open one of his eyes to see what was happening. The first thing he saw, surprisingly, was Yao being a few inches away from his lips.

At the same time that the Russian opened his other eye because he was shocked, Yao instinctively decided to change the plans at the last second and went to give Ivan a quick kiss on his cheek instead.

"Ha?"

Ivan had to be honest; he wasn't certain of what exactly happened. One second, Yao was very close to his lips, the following second, the Chinese was kissing his cheek…Did he just missed his chance of having his so long desired kiss because he opened his eyes too soon? Ivan rapidly put his hand on his cheek to feel that it was actually warm.

There was an awkward silence between the two. Yao completely felt that he looked like an idiot; he hoped that it would be yet another scene that would be soon forgot. For the moment, he only had to take the courage and face the other, even if it was reluctantly.

He was seriously expecting Ivan to be saddened or disappointed; however, the other was still looking at him bewildered with a rather innocent look.

"Aiyaa…I-I told you to not expect anything aru."The Asian finally muttered. He knew that his gift wasn't the best, but Ivan didn't need to be _**that**_ astonished…

"I-I am not disappointed da?"Ivan confirmed, not taking his hand out of the cheek Yao kissed. He honestly wanted something else, although, it was a start…somehow. He was sincerely cursing himself for opening his eyes sooner.

Yao raised an eyebrow, not believing the other. The blond definitely didn't look like someone who wasn't at least a little bit disappointed. If he knew Ivan well, the Russian probably had a lot of strange ideas before the kiss.

"Yao-Yao's lips are so soft da? It's so warm. Thanks Yao." Ivan chimed. Even if he received a simple kiss on the cheek, he was still happy to have felt the sensation of Yao's lips. In fact, he might decide to not clean his cheek for a while.

Yao had to admit that the small, yet pleased, smile on Ivan's face was making him look so adorable… A little taken aback by Ivan's happiness and by his own thoughts, he turned around, blushing.

"D-don't say such foolishness aru!"The Chinese stuttered which made Ivan giggle; it was Yao's typical answer.

No matter what, Yao couldn't understand why he was suddenly finding Ivan's comportment so cute…

"I-I really have to go home aru…" He said quietly. He truly needed to go home; he was feeling so strange at the moment.

"Have a nice evening Yao! See you tomorrow!" The blond wished to the other, very high-spirited. The Chinese walked away bewildered by what he did and what he had the intention to do. He could feel his heart racing and it was so odd!

At last, Yao was at home and he didn't take long to go to his apartment once he was certain that the Russian walked away. When he arrived, he noticed his cousins who were playing with a video game.

"Good evening." He greeted them, still a little perplexed about the earlier event between his stalker and him.

"Good evening. How was your day?"

"It was long and strange aru."

"Aniki, is it warm outside?"Yong asked out of the blue, which confused the older one.

"N-no, not really aru. It's a little windy…"He answered truly not understanding the reason of this sudden question. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just that your face is really red, so I thought it was because of the heat, da-zee!"The Korean pointed out casually.

"…"

Shocked to hear that, the Asian turned around to look in the mirror that was in the living room and to see that, indeed, he was completely blushing.

"Aiya!"He shouted, before quickly going to his room, leaving his cousins completely puzzled by this strange behaviour.

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><p><em><strong>I think it was the longest chapter I ever done _ lol But it's a sort of an apology for all the times I promised I would update faster, but I never did. Sadly, I don't think I can update weekly like I did before because I have a lot of stuff to do -_-ll I hope you can understand ^^; But if you look at it, the chapters are longer than what they used to be. So I hope it's a good deal! xD<strong>_

_**I feel really bad for not updating as much as I wanted during the summer, especially when I promised so much =/ I feel like I didn't enjoy the summer like I should have...but whatever!  
><strong>_

_**Anyway, are you guys liking the Rochu(nesque) moments? X,D It's not much for now, but slowly things between them will become more interesting ;D **_


	18. Chapter 18

_**This fic is still alive for those who were wondering /(Q7Q)/**_

_**Almost all of you guys are waiting patiently for Ivan and Yao to have something serious, I feel bad for making you wait so long OTL. SOON my friends, soon! I promise! But for now I hope you don't mind fluffy stuff. QoQ **_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 18<strong>_

A couple of days passed since Yao's last day of work.

It was a very relaxing evening, and since it was his cousin's turn to prepare the supper, Yao saw this as a perfect opportunity to focus on his homework and try to catch up with the important details he missed on his last Mathematic class. Unfortunately, until now, there has been barely any progress. There was nothing to distract him in his room, but, somehow, he always ended up wondering about something else…such as what could Ivan be doing on evenings like these?

As much as he would like to ignore it though, in some way, Yao felt strange for not seeing Ivan as much often as when he was at work. Of course, he saw the Russian at school, and this one wasn't shy to proudly point to everyone that they were "close" friends. Not that he minded being seen with Ivan, but when the blond decided to shout his name quite loudly in the halls, Yao did felt embarrassed to have the attention of all the curious people on him. However, at the same time, he thought that maybe he was not yet used to this; after all, his cousin Yong did the same thing and he got accustomed to it…

He wondered how Ivan's injury was. The blond told him it was "fine" this afternoon, yet the Chinese was still curious to know if Ivan even took care of his injury like he should.

The Asian looked at his clock to see that it was almost eight.

If he were presently at work, he would be closing the café and Ivan would have been waiting to walk home with him; they would probably be talking about some subject, or maybe he would be scolding the Russian for some "unusual" comportment. No matter what, he was sure that Ivan would be smiling because Ivan always did. Every time, the blond always gave him a very cute smile…even when he was in pain; it wasn't like Yao would honestly declare that, but this was one of the things that he admired from Ivan.

Without realising it, Yao was too much in his thoughts and slowly forgot to continue with his homework. Instead of answering his math questions, he started to unconsciously draw on his notebook a little sketch of Ivan smiling.

"AIYAA! What is wrong with me?!" Stupid Ivan!" The Chinese screamed to himself. His brain was so strange recently. He always ended up remembering things that he didn't really wanted to, or to feel easily embarrassed when the subject was about his "stalker".

And all this was because of Ivan! If this one wouldn't come to see him every day and be so friendly to him, he wouldn't have been distracted by such trivial things. Stupid Ivan! Stupid, yet _cute_ stalker Ivan…

He looked at his small sketch, quickly thinking that he should erase it, but at the same time…there was nothing wrong with a sketch, as long as nobody sees it…though, on the other hand, it's maybe for this reason that he needed to erase it.

"ANIKI! The supper is ready—" Yong shouted, not bothering to knock on the door before entering Yao's room nonchalantly.

"I'm not doing anything!"The older one rapidly snapped, hiding the sketch that was in his notebook.

"…"

And there was a very awkward moment of silence between the two cousins.

"What?"Yong asked confused by what his cousin said.

"…What?"Yao repeated, unsure of what to answer.

"I came to tell you that Kiku finished preparing the supper."The Korean replied still confused.

"Great! I-I'll come soon aru…"Yao said, however he still didn't removed his hands from his notebook…which was only making the younger Asian curious.

"Aniki…are you hiding something?"Yong inquired staring at the particular notebook.

"N-no! Don't be ridiculous, Yong! What do I have to hide?"The Chinese answered uneasily. He was trying the best he could to sound casual; unfortunately, he knew that he wasn't a great liar and actor.

"…"

Well, if Yong didn't know his cousin better, he would suspect that the other was hiding explicit and inappropriate pictures in his notebook…but that would be nonsense! After all, they were talking about Yao; his older cousin who was slightly prudish and obstinate about always being honourable and appropriate.

There was no way Yao would be hiding perverted stuff…right? Just to make sure, Yong made a mental note to clandestinely check this notebook later.

"…Okay…Well you should come before its cold, da-zee!"Yong finally announced, leaving the room.

Once the Korean was gone, Yao gave a small relieved sigh; he couldn't believe that—the always so curious— Yong was content with the plain excuse he gave. Though, he had to admit that the Russian was causing him some small unexpected problems…what should he do?

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><p>The sun was rising and slowly Ivan tried to wake up for school. Usually, he would have some troubles waking up early for school, but recently it was miraculously like a piece of cake.<p>

Thanks to technology, Ivan saved all the pictures Francis took of Yao on his computer before erasing them. He even printed some of them to put it on his bedroom's walls and he thought it was absolutely _wonderful_ waking up in the morning with Yao's picture being the first thing to see.

It was like the perfect way to start a good day and it always made Ivan so cheerful. He never knew that Francis was good at taking pictures, especially with a cell phone. Of course, nothing was better than seeing Yao in real life.

The blond quickly prepared himself and went to the kitchen, he wasn't surprised to see that his older sister already cooked breakfasts for Natalia and him, and was washing the dishes this early in the morning.

"Good morning Onee-chan!" Ivan greeted her cheerfully.

"Good morning little Vanya!"She greeted back, quite surprised to see that Ivan was already awakened.

Ivan simply gave a quiet grumble when he heard this nickname. His older sister always called him like that since he was young. He was used to it; however, now that he was taller than her, he thought it was strange when Ukatarina still called him "little Vanya". Of course, she was too oblivious to realise his "small" dislike about the subject.

"Onee-chan, do you need help with cleaning the dishes?"Ivan suddenly inquired. Before being answered, the younger brother rapidly took a plate and started to wash it.

"Aww thank you so much Vanya. It's so nice of you to help me!"She said, happy to see her brother offering his help. She really liked to clean and do the chores when she could, but it was always great to have a little help from her siblings, from times to times. It was so nice of Ivan to offer his help, even if he hated to clean the dishes so much…

But then, Ukatarina took a small moment to remember that her siblings only offered their help when they were in trouble…

"…"

"What?"Ivan said, noticing that his sister stopped washing the dishes and was now looking at him with blank eyes.

"What do you need, Vanya?"Ukatarina bluntly asked. Her expression was clearly showing that she was worried about Ivan's intentions.

"Hum, well actually Ukatarina, I need money…" Ivan honestly answered. He knew that his sister would realise his intentions sooner or later, though he was surprised that she guessed it this quickly!

"Money?!" She repeated, almost dropping the plate she had in her hands. "D-didn't father give you money this week?"She inquired uncomfortably.

"Da! But I …need more…"Ivan replied slowly.

"More? Why? Did something happen to you, Vanya?'" The older one inquired completely anxious.

Of course, she was already imagining the worse and worrying about nothing; that was _so_ typical of his older sister!

"Nyet, nothing happened! I only gave some of my money to a very important friend of mine. He really needed it."Ivan explained, deciding to be honest with it. Actually, he wasn't lying, Yao was a very important "friend" and he did needed money to see his family in China. He sincerely thought that this was a truly kind and generous excuse. Unfortunately, his sister apparently didn't share the same opinion, since she was starting to have tears in her eyes.

"Aww, Vanya, if you need to give money to your friends in exchange of their friendship, they are not real friends!"She commented sadly, in the verge of crying.

It would be horrible if her brother's friends were just using him for money! Her poor little brother always had some difficulty to make friends. She only hoped he wasn't bullied by them. Ironically, she was too oblivious to come to the conclusion that Ivan was far from being the one who was bullied.

Nonetheless of her good intentions, on the other hand, Ivan thought that this sounded like an insult! What was that suppose to mean? Does that mean that even his older sister didn't believe he could have honest friends?

"Kolkolkolkol. Onee-chan, this is not how it works!"He replied bitterly.

* * *

><p>It was lunch time and Ivan couldn't, once again, wait to be at the end of the day.<p>

Today, his group of friends decided to eat at the cafeteria and Ivan had to admit it was a good idea, since autumn was starting to come and it was rather cold outside. In addition, the weather outside was incredibly gloomy; it would probably be starting to rain at any minute.

However, Ivan seriously didn't care much about the weather; he was too distracted by Yao. To his luck, the table where his friends and he sat was directly facing the one where Yao and his cousins were. Therefore, Ivan had the direct view on Yao's face which he was really grateful for that.

He couldn't deny that he would honestly prefer being sat next to Yao, but sadly his crush was with his cousins and he doubted that he would have the chance to be next to him, even if he asked them very kindly…

Although, Ivan was still more than happy to realise that the Chinese glanced every once in a while at him. Of course, each time the Russian looked directly at the other, Yao rapidly turned his head to look somewhere else or at his lunch.

After a while, Ivan had finally the chance to have Yao's complete attention. Once he was sure that the Chinese was looking at him he mouthed a small "hello". He was glad to see that Yao did the same. The blond quickly gave him one of his sweet smiles; which the other answered the same way.

Meanwhile, Yao was only wondering why his heart was beating fast again. Recently, this happened too much often and every time, it was because of Ivan.

As he was pondering, a thought drastically came to Yao; was he falling for Ivan? It couldn't be possible, right? He simply couldn't fall for someone just because of a hug and a kiss on the cheek; he wasn't a five years old!

On the other hand, the Chinese had to admit that Ivan did have qualities that made him very likable. In fact, he quite enjoyed the time spent with him; the Russian ended up being not as annoying as Yao expected him to be. Ivan also proved to be very kind and calm, despite the strange behaviour he had sometimes. Plus, he always had such a cute smile and adorable expression…and it was true that Ivan had a rather muscular chest…wait! Why was he thinking that?!

The Chinese quickly shocked his head, hoping to forget about all this. In the end, no matter what, Ivan was always responsible for messing up with his head!

Slowly, Yao gave a quick glance at the other and noticed that the blond was still looking at him. Why wouldn't Ivan stop looking at him?

Rapidly Yao's cheeks became red and he was starting to feel weird again. And all this was because of Ivan! He only wanted to smack his head on the table so much he was embarrassed of having such a ridiculous comportment.

"AIYAA!" He expressed, much more loudly than he wanted. Almost immediately, the Asian realised that it made everyone close to his table looked at him in shock and confusion.

"Aniki are you okay?"Yong asked worried about his older cousin.

"Y-Yes…I just have a sudden headache aru."Yao explained, completely shameful of his own behaviour.

"Do you want some pills for your headache?"Kiku proposed.

"I will take some after lunch, thanks Kiku."Yao answered awkwardly, noticing that Ivan was still looking at him and smiling. Unluckily for him, he wasn't the only one who noticed it.

"Wait Aniki! This big nosed Russian with the scarf is looking at you suspiciously! He is intimidating you, isn't he?" Yong snapped, giving a quick glare at the said Russian. How dare this "weirdo" intimidate his aniki? The Korean was more than ready to show him a lesson!

"What? No! Didn't I already tell you to stop with that? He isn't doing anything wrong."Yao replied while trying to calm his younger cousin.

From where they were, the older Asian could see Ivan looking at him with an adorable smile that only made him blush again.

This made the cousins at the table stare at both Yao and Ivan in deep bewilderment. They didn't truly understood what was going on, but this just made Yong even more worried. Actually, the cousins weren't the only ones confused; at Ivan's table, the three other friends didn't understand what was going on either.

"What is going on?"Ravis quietly inquired puzzled.

"What?"Ivan asked, finally snapping out of his own little world of gazing at his lovely Yao.

"I-I mean, you seem really cheerful today."Ravis quickly stuttered, scared of saying something that he shouldn't.

"Da! I'm in a nice mood today." The Russian admitted, completely happy with the day he was having.

"Well it's a good thing for once."The Estonian silently murmured to himself. It was rare to see Ivan cheerful like he was today, but it wasn't something they would complain about. In fact, they were all relieved to have a nice relaxing day. As an answer to the other, the three showed a rather awkward smile, all secretly hoping that Ivan's good mood would continue.

"Ha! Yao!"The Russian suddenly said, noticing that the Asian family was getting up and appeared to leave the table.

"Yao-Yao!" The blond called again, getting up to approach the other.

"Uh?" It didn't take long for Yao to turn around when he recognized the familiar voice.

" W-wait Yao! Can I ask you something da?" The Russian asked.

As a gesture for agreeing, Yao walked closer to Ivan's table to hear what the blond was about to ask, though he was actually a little shocked with Ivan's attitude. Usually the blond would simply bluntly ask what he had in mind, not bothering to make it private.

"Since you are not working tonight, I thought that maybe we could go somewhere together." Ivan started once he was certain that Yao was listening to him. The blond was softly blushing and was giving him a shy smile; Yao couldn't believe how cute this was.

_Aiyaa! Again with those stupid thoughts_! The Chinese scolded himself.

"Actually, I do work tonight aru." Yao finally said, expecting Ivan to be disappointed.

"What?!"

And Yao's expectations were indeed true.

"My schedule got changed because Mathias had something to do. I also work tomorrow for a couple of hours."

"Kolkolkolkolkolkol~ That's really unfair."

"Well, this is how things work. If I would have an important thing to do, Mathias and Nicolai would also have to change their usual schedule for me. In fact, my schedule might be really changed for the next couple of weeks." Yao remarked.

Well this just saddened Ivan, all these efforts to have Yao's schedule and now it was changed. In addition, he was pretty confused with this answer; was that a kind way for Yao to say that he didn't wanted to go out with him?

"B-but, tomorrow is Saturday and I finish at noon, so maybe we can do something after that… if you absolutely want to."The Asian added, blushing in several shades of red, but doing his best to act as if he was asking a plain question.

"Da, I would love to! I will come get you at noon!" Ivan rapidly answered, beaming a big smile.

So Yao guessed this was a date? Flustered with this thought, he wondered why he accepted such a thing…although at the same time, there wasn't anything bad hanging out with a "friend". He was always busy with school and work, he was sure it would change his mind a little.

"So I will be able to see you tonight again da? That's great! I really missed spending time with you at night, during these last days."Ivan chimed, having his full cheerful expression back.

"At night?!"The three at Ivan's table expressed curiously at the same time, staring at the couple. Of course, as soon as Yao noticed the three curious pair of eyes on them, his face quickly went red. Even if Ivan was saying this with innocence, it did look like he was implying something else...

"Aiya! Stop saying stupid stuff like this aru!" The Chinese scolded the other.

"You always say that~"Ivan laughed, not taking the other's comment seriously.

However, it didn't stop the three other to look at them with interest which completely made Yao anxious. He was only happy that none of his cousins heard that conversation…

"I-I really have to go now…so I guess I will see you later."Yao concluded, noticing that Kiku and Yong were waiting for him and that they seemed tense.

"See you later Yao." The Russian replied happily, watching his crush returning to his cousins. Ivan slowly returned to sit at his table and was surprised to see that his three friends were looking at him with a weird stare.

"What?"He added, not liking to be stared like he was doing something strange.

"N-Nothing!"They all said in unison, completely looking at a different direction.

In truth, all of them were actually surprised to see these two talked so casually. They heard rumours about Ivan and Yao having a secret thing, but some of them would never believe it if they wouldn't have seen it with their own eyes.

And from what they heard, apparently Ivan and Yao even saw each others at "night"? No wonder why Ivan was in a great mood recently; for once those rumours were true. In fact, now Eduard lost a certain bet concerning those rumours and owed Toris five dollars...

"I didn't know you and Yao were a couple…"The young one stated with innocent honesty, though he still seemed a little shocked with this revelation.

"Couple?" Ivan repeated with a small hint of surprise.

"Ravis!" The two other screamed, thinking that it would anger the Russian. For all they knew, maybe Ivan wanted to keep it a secret and would be anger of hearing about the rumours.

"S-sorry, I-I thought that—"The Latvian quickly explained nervously.

"We really look like a couple? Really?" Ivan inquired with a big smile before Ravis could finish his explanation.

"Y-yeah…?"

Taken aback by Ivan's expression that looked exactly like a joyful child, the trio could simply nod unconsciously, hoping that they weren't doing something that would frustrate the Russian.

Well this answer somehow made Ivan extremely happy; the simple fact that Yao and he looked like a couple was so wonderful to him, and was, therefore, a very good sign.

On the other hand, the three friends stayed in silence and in awe, during the rest of the dinner. All of them were truly puzzled with the scene of Ivan giggling happily like a child while eating his lunch.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sorry, It took me so long to finish this chapter, I started school which isn't fun lol x,D I think I might post a chapter at least once a month, sorry that it isn't as much as it used to be, but it's what I can do = Of course, the chapters will be longer than what they used to be too. =) I can't thank you guys enough for everything and I appreciate your encouragements uwu **_

_**I wasn't sure of how to name Ukraine, so after some thoughts, I decided to choose the name Ukatarina since it's the one I usually read in fanfics x,D **_

_**Hope it doesn't matter if I make Ivan call Ukraine .Onee-chan. (which means older sister for those who didn't know). I just thought that since I made Yong call Yao "Aniki", there was no much difference with Ivan calling Ukaterina "Onee-chan" lol xD And to be honest, I think it's cute uwu Hope I am not the only one.**_


	19. Chapter 19

_**Warning for this chapter: little mention of Lietpol, it's not too much, but I thought I should point it out for some reason.**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 19<strong>_

After leaving the cafeteria, the three cousins were in complete silence as they were walking to their lockers. Even if Kiku and Yong appeared quite puzzled and curious about the recent conversation between Ivan and Yao, Both didn't ask for any information concerning it. And Yao was very grateful for that!

The older Asian was certain that his cousins were bothered when they saw him having a casual private talk with someone odd like Ivan. The Chinese truly appreciated the fact that they decided to respect his decision of not talking about it.

"Aniki! Why are you recently always hanging out with that strange Russian who always wears a scarf?"

Or maybe Yao assumed things too fast…

"Hanging? I-I don't hang out with him! We just see each other sometimes! That's all aru." Said the person who just agreed to have a date with Ivan.

"But you are always talking to him every day and each time you see him!"Yong pointed out. To him, this was not the definition of "sometimes". In the recent days, the Russian didn't stop calling for his Chinese cousin every time he saw him, and even though Yao seemed embarrassed once in a while, he was always open to talk to him nonetheless. In addition, his cousin's comportment always appeared to be cheerful when they talked together.

"You are talking to him too much often da-zee!" The Korean added, while frowning. He did not like this level of friendliness between Yao and this odd guy; it was too much bizarre.

"W-well there is nothing wrong with talking to someone aru."Yao replied, not understanding why his younger cousin was upset about that.

"But you said you were only helping him with some school work and that you were only in a class with him. So why are you two so friendly? And why does he act like he knows you so well? "

"…"

The Chinese simply gave a blank stare to the youngest one; he definitely didn't expect this question and now he wondered what he should say. He had to admit that this situation might seem a little weird to the others.

"W-we started to get along and quickly become friends aru."Yao answered. In fact, it wasn't a lie; it was very true that they started to get along pretty fast. He was only hoping that this answer was enough for Yong to stop with his questions.

On the other hand, the Korean gave a confused glare to Yao; rare was the occasion when his older cousin would rapidly be friendly with someone as strange and eerie as Ivan. Unfortunately for the Chinese, this recent answer only raised more questions for Yong.

Meanwhile, Kiku stood silent and quietly listened to the conversation. The Japanese wasn't as oblivious as Yong; therefore he knew that Yao was hiding something from them. However, he wasn't sure of what exactly it was. During the recent days, he did hear some rumours concerning Yao and the mysterious relation this one had with the Russian. Though, he definitely didn't know if he should believe these rumours…unlike the rest of the school who apparently did. But he had to admit that Yao's comportment was only confirming the doubts he had about believing the rumours. After all, his older cousin wasn't really good at hiding things…

Kiku was simply surprised that Yong didn't seem to know about the rumours, so he decided to remain quiet about the subject since it would probably worsened Yong's worries.

After a long moment of silence, though, the Korean was already starting to assume some ideas…

"You know aniki…no matter how I look at the situation; I can't help to think that…"

"We are not a couple!"The Chinese quickly snapped certain that this was what Yong was about to say.

"Ivan already bullied you so that you accept to help him with his school work!" The Korean announced instead, which completely bewildered the older one.

Well, this was the last accusation that Yao would think of!

"W-what?"

"That's why you are acting suspicious and weird recently, isn't it aniki? And you try to hide it by pretending to be friendly with him."

Yao seriously couldn't understand where in the world Yong would get these weird conclusions from.

Maybe he saw too much Korean dramas? Or simply too much television in general? These were indeed one of the times where Yao truly didn't know what to say to the other.

"Don't worry Aniki! You can tell us the truth; we are your family da-zee!"

"Aiyaa! W-why? How? What is this…"The Chinese questioned, rubbing his forehead in exasperation.

"Yao, were you about to say something before that? Something about 'being a couple'?" Kiku suddenly inquired, remembering the odd and harsh reply Yao gave just a moment ago.

"W-what! N-no, I didn't say any of that!"The Chinese quickly lied, starting to feel truly uncomfortable with all these questions. If it continues like this, he would have to tell the truth about Ivan and him, but this was still something he wanted to keep a secret from his cousins. If these two would know, they wouldn't stop meddling in what was _obviously not_ their business. Yong was already panicking with only knowing that Ivan spoke to him often at school. He definitely didn't wanted to experience the situation where Yong knew _everything_; from Ivan's stalking to their meetings at work.

"Couple? Don't be silly Kiku. Why in the world would Aniki date such a creepy person?"Yong said, laughing about Kiku's suggestion instead of realising the wary expression the Chinese had.

"Aiyaa! He has very nice qualities aru."Yao retorted quietly to himself. For some reason, he didn't really appreciate Yong's mocking. Ivan was adorable, kind, pleasant and always had a cute sweet smile; he was far from being a "creepy person"… even if sometimes Yao had to admit that the Russian had pretty weird tendencies. Yao could think of many other qualities the Russian had, but now wasn't the time for that because his cousins were strangely looking at him.

"What did you say?"Kiku inquired, once again noting that the older one was _truly _actingout of the ordinary.

"N-nothing! It's nothing important."Yao sighed, very tired of the situation. "Anyway, I can't believe you are still suspecting Ivan of doing such things! I told you so many times that he doesn't bully me! Plus, if he would be troubling me, I wouldn't let him bully me! I can perfectly defend myself aru."

Yao wondered why everyone seemed to forget about the fact that he was extremely good in martial arts?! He didn't take those classes for nothing! It made him a little bitter to know that so many of his entourage thought that he would get bullied this easily.

"You seem to trust him a lot…"Kiku quietly remarked.

"W-what does that mean aru?!"

"Nothing…it's just that it seems that you care a lot for him…" The Japanese calmly said.

"W-what? N-no, I don't. You guys are seriously imagining things aru." Yao responded rapidly. It didn't take much long for his cheeks to turn slightly red. "W-where are you getting this from?!"

"You act very suspiciously!" Both of them stated at the same time.

"No, I do not!"

The Chinese was thankful that his cousins were worried about him, but he thought that it was really unnecessary. Ivan would not cause him any troubles. He didn't know how to explain why, but he was certain of it.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, still at the cafeteria, Ivan and his friends were peacefully finishing their meals. While Ivan was completely daydreaming about his future date with his Yao-Yao, the three others were simply happy that things were cheerful today. Actually, things couldn't be greater, as the small group was having a causal discussion, they were all secretly grateful for such a positive atmosphere. In fact, if they knew that Ivan could be this nice when he was in such a good mood, they would have helped him seduce Yao a long time ago!<p>

"I think someone owes me five dollar!" Toris suddenly mentioned with a joyful expression to the Estonian.

"Why couldn't you forget about it?"Eduard sighed sadly, taking five dollars from his wallet.

"Five dollars?"Ivan asked a little confused.

"They made a bet…But I-It has nothing to do with you or Yao!"Ravis quickly replied, not realising that his answer was more strange than actually helpful.

"Ravis!"

"W-what?"Ivan asked again, still puzzled.

"N-nothing. It was just a plain bet between Toris and I."Eduard explained, hoping that it would eliminate the Russian's curiosity.

"I see."Ivan said with a small laugh. He didn't understood what these odd answers were all about, but he didn't really care that much. For now, he only wanted to daydream about what Yao and he should do during their upcoming date. He was so excited and couldn't wait for it; but then he remembered something truly important that he almost forgot about!

"Oh, I have something important to say…" He started. The others all nodded and looked at him patiently; for some reason, they were all convinced that Ivan was going to talk about his new relationship with Yao.

"…I need more money."

However, they were all completely _wrong_!

"WHAT?!"They all shouted at the same time.

"…Why are you all surprised like this da?"Ivan inquired. In all honesty, he wasn't expecting such shocked expressions coming from his friends.

"You asked us money only a few days ago!"

"You asked us ten dollars each! How did you spend all this money in only a few days?!"

"By the way, didn't you got I trouble because you took money from us last time?"

The three started talking about one thing and another, and in a matter of seconds, it started to frustrate Ivan. He truly didn't appreciate the way they were talking to him. It reminded him of how his father scolded him about the fact that he spent money so easily recently and he _really_ didn't like that!

"I never took money from you da? I only asked you kindly to give me money." Ivan corrected very bitterly. He was still having a smile on his face, but with the drastic change of atmosphere, it was certain that this smile wouldn't stay for much longer.

"So what happens if we don't give you any?"The youngest one questioned extremely quietly, fearing to anger the Russian.

Ivan simply gave a rather intimidating glance at the trio; in the end, it seemed like they didn't wanted to help him…

"Kolkolkolkolkol~ I need more money for my date with Yao"

"W-why? Do you have to pay him to date you?"Ravis asked without thinking. Immediately after noticing the petrified expression of his other two friends, he realised the meaning of what he just said and gasped. He definitely felt like he was going to get murdered.

"RAVIS!"

"I-I'm s-so s-sorry! I-it's not w-what I meant, I just—"

"Kolkolkolkolkolkol!" Now Ivan seemed even more anger, if that was even possible.

"HAAAAAA!"They all screamed with a slightly high pitched voice.

"I-Ivan, w-wait, I am sure we can arrange a deal here."Eduard rapidly proposed.

"A deal?"

"Y-yeah…somehow." He definitely didn't thought this through, but he was surprised that it worked, and that Ivan seemed a little calmer. Now he didn't have the choice but to go with it and save his friends.

"I-I'm sorry Ivan, but you see…sadly, we really don't have any more money…"He admitted slowly. It didn't take much longer for the tall one to frown; for Ivan, this definitely did not seem like a good way to start a deal.

"We all had to spend money for various things, and we gave you some at the beginning of the week. Unfortunately, we can't really help you right now…"

No! This definitely wasn't a good way to start a deal!

"However, I promise that next week, we might be able to help you."

"We?" Both Toris and Ravis repeated with worry. Eduard wasn't saving them; he was only sparing their lives at short-term. They really couldn't offer money to Ivan each week for the rest of their lives; that was something impossible for them to agree with.

"But I need money for tomorrow! My date is tomorrow!" The Russian whined. He will not tolerate to postpone the date with Yao that he longed so much for. But at the same time, if he didn't have enough money for his date, it would eliminate some of the things he planned to do with his crush.

"Yeah…your idea doesn't really make sense Eduard."Toris commented with a playful tone, hoping that his friend would get the hint that this was a _horrible_ idea! Unfortunately, Eduard didn't seem content with this comment.

"Well you know what Ivan? I just remembered that unlike us, Toris still has some money. I just gave him the rest that I had because I lost the bet." The Estonian remarked.

It didn't take long for everyone at the table to suddenly look at Toris.

"Well I have to go. See you guys later."Eduard said, leaving the table with a little grin.

"W-wait for me Eduard!"Ravis rapidly stuttered. He absolutely didn't want to miss the only chance he had to get away from this problem.

"Nice way to be a friend Eduard..." Toris muttered to himself bitterly. Now, Eduard's first plan didn't seem that horrible to him. He sincerely regretted complaining about it.

"Toris, you will loan some money to me da?"The Russian asked.

"B-but I don't really have any…"

"LIAR! You have a five dollar bill in your hand! Kolkolkolkolkol!"

"B-But…that's only five dollars…"The Lithuanian said, not understanding why Ivan absolutely wanted such a small amount of money. On the other hand…if he just wanted five dollars, he could simply give it to him and get rid of this problem. Could it be this simple?

"W-wait! If I give you the five dollar will it be enough for your date?"

"Da!"The blond answered like if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Seriously? But it's just five dollars. How does it make such a big difference to you?"

"My sisters and father didn't want to give me any more. So I take what I can get to make Yao happy!"The Russian explained.

"W-what? So your family doesn't support your relation with Yao? That's sad."The Lithuanian questioned, understanding this situation. The parents of Feliks also didn't support their relationships…he could empathise that it wasn't easy.

"What?" Ivan completely didn't understand what Toris was talking about. But if by support he meant the fact that his family didn't give him more money to impress Yao; well in this case, no, his family didn't support it. And Toris was right, it was sad! He did give money to Ukatarina when she needed sometimes; it was a little bit mean of her to not do the same for him!

"Okay, I will give you what I have, but you have to promise to stop asking money from us for a very _very_ long time, okay?"

"Yes, sure. I promise."Ivan rapidly said. He didn't know what was Toris' definition of a "very very long time", but as long as he got the money, he didn't really care about the details.

Well, Toris could conclude that it looked like a good deal. He was happy to see that he could think of a better solution than Eduard. Sadly, this problem was far from being solved, since the Russian didn't even have the chance to have the money for more than ten seconds before being interrupted.

"Yay! Thank—"

"Hey! What do you think you are doing?!"A slightly familiar voice loudly interrupted.

"?!"

It didn't take long for Ivan to turn his head and see a familiar green-eyed Pole who didn't seem happy at all.

"What are you doing taking Toris' money?!"The blond asked harshly to the Russian, rudely accusing him.

"It's my money now!"Ivan replied resentfully. Unfortunately, this answer made the Pole even more anger.

"You jerk! Give him his money back!"

"F-Feliks n-no!"The Lithuanian quickly approached the green-eyed student with a panic tone. If it carries on like this, it will end badly for _everyone_ and he wasn't looking forward to this. "Just let him have the five dollar. There is no need to make a scene."The brunet tried to explain, but with the lack of details Feliks automatically assumed the worse.

"What?! No! I won't let you get bullied like that!"He shouted

"I wasn't being bullied!"The other stated before the situation could deteriorate even more.

"Toris, you can't, like, lie to me! I heard your high pitched scream from the other side of the cafeteria!"Feliks pointed out casually.

"I don't scream high pitched! It's Ravis! _Ravis_!"The other replied a little embarrassed with this statement.

"He gave the money to me."Ivan remarked. He was starting to feel extremely frustrated by all these accusations.

Finally, someone agreed to loan him money so that he could have a great date with Yao, and now, from out of nowhere, Feliks had to come and accuse him for no reason.

"Yeah! After you, like, bullied him to do so! Stop robbing people, you big nosed thief!"

"I am not a thief! Kolkolkolkolkolkol~"

Now, Ivan was completely irritated and the atmosphere began to be very gloomy.

"F-Feliks, p-please stop."Toris begged his boyfriend; he was really starting to be scared of what could happen to their safety. Now he definitely regretted no agreeing with Eduard's first plan. Unfortunately for Toris, his boyfriend didn't listen to him.

"I know that you, like, totally took money from Toris and the others Monday too!"

"F-Feliks!"

"Kolkolkolkolkol~ I didn't take money from them!"

Why people always accused him of doing bad things? It wasn't like he wanted to cause problems; he simply wanted people to help him. And if he wanted people to do so, he had to force them in one way or another, because if he didn't, not even his friends would help. He felt so anger with all this. Right now, he only wanted to take his metal pipe and beat out Feliks, and anyone who was against him for that matter.

"What? You want to, like, fight me?!" Feliks snapped, not showing a sign of fear at the other.

"Feliks! NO!" Having the complete opposite feeling of his boyfriend, Toris was completely panicking of fear. The last thing he wanted was to see Feliks get hurt!

"Okay, okay! What is going on here?"The voice of M. Vargas stopped the conflict that was starting to attract everyone's attention at the cafeteria.

"He is bullying people and he takes money from them!"

"What? Didn't I tell you to stay out of trouble?"The teacher complained looking at Ivan.

"I am not doing anything!"

* * *

><p>In one way or another, Ivan ended up in detention again. No matter what he said to defend himself, holding a metal pipe and giving murderous glares to others did not help his innocence. It didn't take long for the teacher to give him another detention after class. And by the unpleasant expression on M. Vargas' face, this time Ivan doubted he would get out of detention as easily as last time.<p>

He felt depressed thinking that he would miss the chance of being with Yao this evening. It was really awful! What would happen if someone—such as Francis— would use his absence as an opportunity to flirt with Yao again?! He had to get out of school as soon as possible!

All this was stupid Feliks' fault! If it wasn't for him everything would have been fine! Why no one was never on his side and never believed him?

A little sad by the latter thought, he comforted himself by assuring that if Yao had been there; it was certain that Yao would have been on his side…or at least he would have believe in him.

"Son, I am worried about your comportment. Your behaviour is troublesome these days and the headmaster absolutely wants it to stop. If it continues like this, I will have to talk with your father. Is that what you want?"M. Vargas said. It seemed like he had a discussion with the headmaster before the beginning of the detention. This wasn't a good sign…

"No, I really don't want that."Ivan plainly responded.

"Thanks Goodness."The teacher expressed with a big relieved sigh." Don't take it badly, but your father is a little intimidating." He added. Obviously, he looked quite glad to avoid this option for now.

"It's okay…"

It wasn't the first time someone told him that his father looked intimidating, Ivan never took it badly, but he seriously thought that sometimes people tend to exaggerate. Although, he wasn't going to complain in this situation; his father would be pretty mad if he knew in what kind of trouble he always had.

"But seriously, you have to stop. If you cause trouble again, I will have to call your parents."The Italian teacher announced.

Ivan nodded; he will try his best to avoid causing trouble, even if it means avoiding some people from now on.

"And for your detention, you will have to clean the class."

_Detention?! No!_ With the teacher's last comments, the Russian was hoping that the detention would end soon, but it looked like it was actually starting.

"kolkolkolkol! I don't like that!" The Russian complained. Cleaning the class completely seemed like it would take hours to do.

"Well, that what happens when you don't keep your promises."The teacher reminded him. The Italian wasn't happy with that too; he was the one who had to stay at work even longer to make sure that Ivan was cleaning the class like he should.

The student gave a quick bitter glare to his teacher. It was true that he promised to not cause problems anymore, but this time he _really_ didn't cause any problem. If only someone in this stupid school would believe him.

"While you do that, I will correct some homework. When I will be finish, I want this class to be all shiny and clean!"

* * *

><p>Ivan did his best to clean the class as fast as he could. He didn't care that the teacher wanted it to be "shiny and clean", he didn't like to clean, so he did what he could do. The only thing he wanted was to get out of there and see Yao. Unlike what M. Vargas planned to do, the Italian felt asleep five minutes after he started to correct the homework, so it wasn't like he would notice that Ivan wasn't cleaning correctly.<p>

It has been a while that it started raining outside, but recently it seemed like the rain was stronger. Not that Ivan was complaining, the sound of the rain was something nice to listen to, especially in comparison to M. Vargas' snoring. The Russian didn't know how many times since the beginning of detention that he just wanted to make a loud noise to brutally wake him up.

Desperate, he looked at the clock and realised that it was already pass seven. Time sure passed fast, but he felt like he had been cleaning the class for so much longer. No matter what, he still thought of Yao. Soon the café will be close; he wondered if his crush would wait for him if he didn't finish the detention on time. Or maybe, Yao wouldn't and would simply go home accompanied by someone else?

This sudden small jealousy made him anxious and tired. He glanced at the snoring teacher… the Italian wouldn't notice a thing if he would run away, right? He seemed like he was deep asleep after all.

Slowly, Ivan approached the door; however, before he could even touch the doorknob, M. Vargas suddenly woke up. Automatically, the student rapidly pretended that he was about to take the broom that was next to the door.

"Ha?…so are you finished?"The teacher asked half-sleeping.

"Actually…"

The Italian looked around the class, he was still sleepy, but he noticed that the class looked pretty clean.

"Ok! It's perfect! You can return home!"He concluded.

A huge smile immediately appeared on Ivan's face. Finally, he would be able to get out of this horrible detention.

"It looks like you did a very good job! Have a good weekend." M. Vargas said, before the Russian left the class.

Without losing any precious second, Ivan took his school bag and ran out of the class. In not too long, the café will be closed, he only hoped to arrive there before Yao would leave.

* * *

><p><em><strong>I'm sorry if this chapter seems a little dull and that I took a really long time to finish it! This chapter was supposed to be finished like two weeks ago, but I was really busy during the month of October QAQ. I know that there are no interactions between Ivan and Yao in this chapter, but it was a chapter that had to be made for the story to progress .x,D Anyway, while there are no interactions between our lovebirds, there will be a lot in the upcoming chapters xDD I mean, seriously, next chapter will only be about Ivan and Yao. So I hope it's a good deal! I promise next chapter will be more interesting ;P<strong>_

_**I tried to add some comedy to make this chapter a little bit more fun, I didn't know if it worked or not, but I still enjoyed adding it . I hope you guys enjoyed reading it nonetheless =)**_


	20. Chapter 20

_**Chapter 20**_

It was still raining outside when Yao closed the café.

In the end, Ivan didn't come this evening and Yao only wondered if something bad had happened to him. After all, it wasn't like the Russian to not come when he looked so eager to. For some reason, Yao was worried about that…but he tried to ignore it the best he could. It was possible that Ivan simply changed his mind and couldn't come. There were no reasons to be troubled about it.

Once he made sure that the café's door was perfectly locked, Yao quickly took his umbrella before he could get wet. He was glad that he didn't forget his it this time. He remembered that the last time it rained; Ivan offered to share his umbrella with him.

"Yao!"

Recognizing the familiar voice, Yao turned around. At first, he thought it was his imagination, but he rapidly realised that it was, in fact, truly Ivan who was running toward his direction.

"Aiyaa!"The Chinese expressed. He never expected to see Ivan at this hour.

"Yao!"

"Ivan?! What are you doing here at this hour aru?"Yao asked with a worried tone. Ivan looked so tired and –because of the rain—the blond was completely wet. Yao could imagine how the blond must be frozen at the moment.

After arriving close to Yao, the Russian decided to rest for a while to catch his breath back. He was quite happy to see that the Asian waited for him and that he was still there.

"Where were you?"The other inquired, waiting patiently for Ivan to answer.

"I was in detention."

"What?! Why? What have you done?"

"Nothing! The teachers and headmaster are all against me; they don't stop to put me in trouble."The blond complained. He was still feeling a little bitter about his day. He thought that the last events were really unpleasant; it completely ruined this day. It was a shame, since he had a great day before all this happened.

"What? Why?"Yao asked again.

"They always suspect me of doing something bad. Plus, my father and my older sister don't want to help me and, even my friends didn't do anything to defend me da? I feel like nobody cares about me…"The Russian said with a miserable tone.

The Asian was quite confused with what Ivan was explaining; he was sure that there must be a reasonable explanation for all this. However, at the same time, he couldn't help but to feel bad for poor Ivan.

"Aiyaa! Don't say that! I bet this is just a misunderstanding aru." The Chinese told him, hoping it would lighten up his mood, but unfortunately it didn't change his expression. The blond was standing in front of him, under the rain, still being quite sad about his day.

"Don't stay there in the rain, you will catch a cold. Come here."Yao added gently, moving the umbrella so that it would protect both of them from the heavy rain.

By being closer to Ivan, Yao realised how exhausted the Russian appeared to be.

"You look so tired..."He remarked with a quiet and caring voice.

"I was in detention since the end of school. I didn't have a chance to take a break, because the teacher forced me to clean the class…I also didn't ate yet…I'm kind of hungry…"Ivan explained.

This only made Yao wonder what in the world had happened for Ivan to be in such a long detention. The teachers only did that when there was a big problem…

"…Can I go inside?" The Russian asked kindly, pointing at the café. He knew that he came late and it was already closed, but he didn't want to return home. He wanted to spend the rest of his evening in a tranquil place with Yao.

"Aiyaa! Sorry Ivan, but you can't."Yao replied. Even if he felt _really_ terrible for saying this, he couldn't let someone enter the café after the closure time. It was against the rules and he seriously didn't want to get into problems that could risk him to lose his job.

"Aww."

"Look at you! You are all wet, you are starving and you look so tired aru! You should have headed back to your home. Why did you even came here?"Yao questioned, scolding the other for being unreasonable. After a day like that, Ivan should have just gone home and rest. It was a thing everyone would do.

"I wanted to see you…"Ivan answered. In the end, it seemed like he wouldn't have the nice and quiet rest he hoped for.

On the other hand, the Chinese was taken aback from this answer. He didn't understand why Ivan was doing so many efforts to see him…but, somehow, he didn't dislike hearing this revelation…

"I can't open the café…but if you want, you can come with me aru."

* * *

><p>Ivan was wondering where Yao was going…and he was really curious to know!<p>

When Yao told that he could come with him, Ivan simply nodded and followed him. He was sure that no matter where Yao would go, he would feel better as long as he was spending time with his crush. Though, he really wanted to know where they were going.

After walking for a few minutes, Ivan was starting to have some ideas of where Yao might bring them. The streets looked familiar, but the Russian didn't want to have false assumptions that would raise his hopes for nothing.

However, when he had the clear confirmation of where they were going; Ivan definitely couldn't believe his eyes. Yao was bringing him to his apartment!

From the first steps he made into the building, the Russian didn't stop looking around and glancing at everything.

Each time he walked Yao home, he always remarked how Yao's apartment seemed to be so nice. Now he could confirm it; Yao's apartment was not simply nice, it was also very fancy and classy. And that was only the opinion he had with just seeing the entrance. He absolutely couldn't wait to see Yao's home.

Still in silence, the blond quietly followed the Chinese while looking around the place.

"It's here." Yao said, once they arrived in front of a specific door.

Ivan glanced at the number of the door while Yao was opening it. Apartment number 319; he will definitely remember this number for a long time!

After some seconds, Ivan entered Yao's home and saw the fabulous apartment.

Well to be honest, there was nothing exceptional about the apartment, but given that it was Yao's home, it seemed like it was such a warm and comforting place; it sure felt welcoming!

Yao took off his shoes and went to depose his school bag and umbrella at their respective place. Of course, Ivan wanted to do the same without being rude, but since he was all wet from the rain, he didn't want to cause problems or wet the floor. Fortunately for him, it seemed like Yao read his mind.

"Don't worry, make yourself at home. I will bring you some clothes for you to wear while you will be here. I think you will feel more comfortable aru."The Chinese mentioned, noticing a somehow shy behaviour from his new guest.

Before Ivan could even say a word, the Asian went to a room leaving the guest alone in the living room.

Now that Yao thought about it, he seriously didn't know what kind of clothes he could offer to Ivan. The Russian had such a different height and weight from him; everything he would give the tall blond that belonged to him would be too small and uncomfortable. After searching for a couple of minutes, Yao decided that he didn't had the choice but to offer him his large hello-kitty shirt…it was the only thing that would fit Ivan…

"Here Ivan, you can change yourself in the bathroom aru."Yao stated once he came back from the room. He offered the specified clothes to Ivan and the other took it with no comment or objection. Yao was somehow relieved that the blond didn't express a strange reaction because of the shirt.

"Thank you so much Yao."The Russian simply said. He was grateful that his crush had been so kind to him. Yao was taking care of him and it made him feel better.

"You are welcomed. The bathroom is the first room on the left."

Ivan gave a warm smile before going. Yao could just reply with giving him a small smile back. It was the first time of the evening that he saw Ivan smile like that and he was rather relieved. He must admit that not seeing Ivan smiling like usual had been quite strange for him; he was actually glad that the other appeared to be better. The poor Ivan seemed to have had an awful day.

Yao's thoughts were harshly interrupted by the sudden loud ring of the phone.

"Hello." Yao answered the phone.

"Hi."

"Kiku?"

Yao rapidly recognized his cousin's voice. Though, he was pondering why the other was calling him at this hour. The Japanese went to spend the evening at a friends' house, usually Kiku would come home a little later than this hour; it was unusual of him to call home when he was out.

"I only wanted to tell you that I won't be coming home tonight. My friends and I decided to change our plans at the last minute."The Japanese explained.

"What happened?"Yao inquired. If Kiku took the time to call him, it means that something serious happened, right?

"Nothing wrong happened. Since the weather is pretty bad outside, Feliciano invited us to stay for the night. And I think it's a good idea…"

Yao looked outside to see that the rain was even fiercer at the moment. He had to agree that it was probably a good decision for Kiku to stay there.

"I called just to let you know. The weather will be like this all night, so I will come home tomorrow."The cousin added.

"All night?"Yao murmured. He didn't thought it would be raining like this for the entire night…what would happen to Ivan?

"Yes…Is there something wrong?"The cousin asked. By the tone of how Yao was speaking, it seemed like something was perplexing the older one.

"N-no, it's really fine."

"Yong called me earlier. He said that he would also stay at a friend's house after the concert. He also said that he would call you eventually, but knowing him, he will probably be having too much fun to think about it."

With the recent events, Yao almost forgot that Yong went to a music concert of his favourite singer…so that means he would be alone for the entire night?

"T-thank you for telling me about Yong aru."

"Yao-Yao, where can I put my clothes?"Another voice suddenly asked.

With a shocked expression, the Chinese turned around to see his guest. Ivan came back from changing his clothes, however the Russian didn't realise that Yao was on the phone before he spoke.

"…I-Is… someone there with you?"Kiku inquired. Now Kiku was the one who was perplexed with what he just heard. It was so unusual of his older cousin to invite a guest home, especially at _this_ _hour_. In fact, he honestly started to wonder if his cousin wasn't profiting of their absence to be alone...

Plus, there was something about that voice that seemed familiar. The Japanese felt like he heard it before, but not quite enough for him to recognize it.

"N-no! I'm sorry Kiku, but I-I have to go now. Take care! See you tomorrow." Yao quickly replied, hanging up the phone before his cousin could even say a word.

This action was followed by a very long and awkward silence. Yao truly didn't understand why he hung up the phone so brutally. He even less knew why he wanted to keep Ivan's visit a secret. The recent action he made was like a reflex… instead of lying he could have just told the truth. After all, it wasn't like he was actually doing something private with Ivan…why was he even thinking about that?!

"Sorry, I didn't know you were on the phone. I hope I didn't bother you too much da?"Ivan finally broke the silence.

"N-no, it's fine! Don't worry about it. You can give me your clothes I will dry them aru."The Chinese replied, taking the wet clothes that Ivan was holding to take them to the laundry room.

"So..are the clothes …fine?"Yao questioned, taking a quick glance at the other. For some strange reason, he thought that his adorable hello-kitty shirt fitted Ivan perfectly. It didn't look too small for him, plus, Ivan looked rather cute in it…

"Yeah…somehow. It's very kind of you to let me borrow them."Ivan said.

He did felt pretty weird wearing a hello-kitty shirt; to be honest, he never thought that he would one day wear something like this. But, on the other hand, he knew that hello-kitty was one of Yao's favourite characters, therefore this shirt was probably meaning a lot to him. Plus, the shirt was really warm; it was way better than wearing his wet and cold clothes.

The thing he disliked, though, were the jogging pants Yao gave him. It was a too tight for him and he felt a little uncomfortable, however he was sure he could bear with it.

"So you were talking to your cousin da?" Ivan asked.

"Yes… my cousin kiku won't be coming home tonight because of the weather."Yao clarified. Although, He didn't even knew why he was explaining this to Ivan…

"Really?"

"Yes, he decided to stay at a friends' house aru."

"So where is your other cousin?"

"…Yong…he went to a music concert. He will also spend the night at his friend's house …because of the weather…"

Ivan's brain completely paused when he heard this information. So that means that they were all alone…in Yao's apartment...for the rest of the night?!

"Do you want something to drink?"Yao suddenly asked, noticing that he didn't offer anything to Ivan yet.

This question rapidly snapped Ivan out of his thoughts. Now, was probably not the best time to think about such things, however, he couldn't help but to acknowledge this situation.

"A glass of water would be great, please."He answered.

"Don't you want anything else? I can make tea or I have sodas if you prefer?"

"No, it's okay. A glass of water is fine."

"Is there something in particular you want to eat?"

"Eat?" Ivan repeated.

"Of course! You must be starving aru. I can prepare you something you like. Or if you don't want to wait, I still have some leftovers from yesterday's supper…but there are only a few dumplings left…"

"Did you make the dumplings yourself?"

"Yes…."The Asian answered, not understanding why was Ivan asking this random question.

"I want them! I want them!"The Russian exclaimed happily.

"Aiya! But there are just a few! It's not going to fill your stomach aru."

"Da it will! I would appreciate it if I could eat some, please."Ivan commented politely, having the usual sweet smile he always had. Finally he would be able to taste Yao's cooking!

With a small sigh, the Chinese offered the dumplings to Ivan. He couldn't say no to that, especially when the other seemed so enthusiastic. Ivan acted so cute sometimes; it made him softly blush.

"Thank you!" Ivan hastily took a bite to savour the delicious food. He could confirm that his assumptions were right; Yao's food tasted _so good_. He always knew that Yao was a good cook.

"I can make you something else if you are still hungry after that aru."The Chinese remarked, he doubted that a few dumplings could fill the empty stomach.

"It's really great Yao. It will be enough."Ivan said, still giving him a smile. It looked like Ivan was in a good mood again and it was great!

Yao served himself some noodles that he rapidly cooked and went to sit at the table with Ivan; both ate the supper in silence.

"So do you want to talk about the misunderstanding you had at school earlier aru?"Yao suddenly suggested. Actually, he was curious to know what happened to Ivan. He seemed so sad earlier; even to the point of saying that his family didn't wanted to help him.

"No, I don't want to…"Ivan replied, he didn't have the energy to explain everything to Yao…not now, at least. He was enjoying the tranquil and pleasant moment that he was having with his crush and he didn't want to change it.

"Okay…it's fine aru..." The Chinese said kindly, seeing that Ivan felt uncomfortable talking about the subject. However, he couldn't deny that he secretly wanted to know the situation.

Without realising, the time past quite fast while they were eating and when Yao looked at the clock, he was surprised to see that it was already past 10 p.m.

"It's almost 10h30 p.m. aru…I know it's none of my business, but won't your family be worried with the fact that you didn't come home all day and that you are still not there at this hour?"Yao inquired.

In reality, Ivan completely forgot about the fact that he had to return home eventually… if only there was a miracle that could make him stay here…

"N-no, I'm sure they aren't worried. My father is out of the city for a job conference. He won't be coming back until Monday."

"What about the rest of your family?"

"I'm sure that my older sister assumed that I was at a friend's house since I'm not home da? If she would be worried, she would have called me on my cell phone. So everything is alright."

Unknown to him, Ivan already had over 12 missed calls from his older sister, the reason he didn't realised it was because his cell phone was on silent mode.

The Chinese gave a small bewildered look to Ivan. He didn't understand how Ivan's family could not be concerned about his absence. The Russian hasn't come home all day and, apparently, it didn't seem like he called them either to tell about his absence. Plus, there was an incredibly bad weather outside. How can his family not be, at least, a _little_ worried?!

"So, you see, I can stay here as long as you want me to stay da~"Ivan chimed with a small laugh. He didn't want to sound suspicious, but he hoped that Yao would get the small hint. After all, they were all _alone_…

"Is your home very far from here aru?"The Chinese questioned, still troubled about Ivan's situation.

"No, not much… it's only about 45 minutes from here."

"45 minutes?!"Yao repeated, surprised to hear that.

"B-but only by walk; by car or bus it's about 15 minutes or so." Ivan reassured, although he thought that Yao's expression was pretty funny.

"But it's still a lot."Yao added, still in shock. So that meant that every time Ivan would walk with him to his apartment after work, the Russian would arrive to his home 45 minutes later?

Yao quickly glanced at his clock; if what Ivan said was true, the blond would arrive home pass 11 p.m. and that was only if he parted at this instant… It definitely wasn't a time to walk on the streets, especially not with the extreme rain that was outside. In fact, it seemed like the weather was starting to get stronger and it was windier outside.

But why did he cared, it was Ivan's problem after all…

"The weather seems to be extreme aru.I-If you don't want to go home in this rain, you can stay here for the night…"The Chinese proposed, before really thinking of what he just said.

_What did Yao proposed?!_ Ivan couldn't believe it! Did he heard correctly? Yao was inviting him to stay at night in his home…when he knew that they would be all alone.

_Why am I proposing this?!_ Yao suddenly realised, panicking mentally. He couldn't believe what he suggested. He proposed to his stalker—someone he yet didn't knew how to feel about—to stay for a complete night at his home while they were all alone. Obviously, Ivan would have weird ideas about this! Ivan might act sweet and cute, but he also happened to show a really perverted mind some other times. All of the sudden, the Chinese felt somehow anxious…

"…I can really stay for the night?"The Russian questioned, making sure that he didn't dream of this suggestion.

"Yes, i-if you want…and if you are sure it's okay with your family. It's too late to walk on the streets alone at this hour and it's raining too much."

Ivan didn't thought it was too late to walk outside, however he would never say no to this proposition. How could he even say no? They would be alone…for the rest of the night…so many thoughts came to Ivan's head all of a sudden.

"Thanks Yao-Yao, it's very kind of you to help me da?"He said with a sweet smile.

So Yao was indeed looking forward to spend this night alone with him? Ivan wasn't capable of hiding a very small grin. Who knows? Maybe shy little Yao was only waiting for him to flirt and make the first move? Not taking any chance, Ivan took this proposition as a hint to start seducing Yao.

Trying to look natural, the Russian moved his chair a little closer to his crush and slowly approached the other.

"Do you want to eat something else?"The Asian asked, noticing that Ivan was looking at him like if he was about to demand something.

"No, I am really fine. Don't worry."The blond rapidly replied, he didn't want Yao to move out of his chair. Luckily for the Ivan, Yao didn't move, though the Chinese was looking at him confusedly. In the end, it still seemed like the blond wanted something.

"Do you want some tea?" The Asian asked again.

"No. It's very fine. Don't be bothered with me Yao." Ivan answered slowly getting closer and closer to the Chinese.

Ivan was thinking of how he should make the first move to seduce Yao. It was certain that if he would boldly embrace Yao and kiss him, the other would panic and probably be frustrated to the point of throwing him out of the apartment…sadly. And this was something he absolutely didn't want to risk. Therefore, he must thought of a good strategy. The Chinese had one hand on the table, so maybe Ivan should naturally put his hand on Yao's? It would be a good start...

However, at the exact moment he was about to begin his "perfect" plan, Yao moved his hand.

Ivan ended up not only disappointed, but also surprised to see that the Chinese moved to get a school notebook. It was late, why was Yao planning to do that at this hour? And more importantly, why it had at to be at the same moment that he was about to start to seduce him?!

"Yao, you have the willpower to do your homework at this hour?"The Russian pointed suddenly. It was a question that took the Asian by surprise.

"Well a little... I couldn't study today because I had to work aru. I do my homework as soon as I can, so that I won't procrastinate." The Chinese explained.

However, before the explanation, Ivan noticed that Yao quickly closed his math notebook once the Asian realised that he was looking at it. It was so strange…

"I am also trying to not procrastinate much this year. But you have all my admiration if you have the motivation to do your schoolwork at this hour." The Russian commented glancing at the notebook.

"I don't really have the choice sometimes."The Chinese gave a big and tired sigh. He was exhausted and he truly didn't feel like doing his homework, but he still had to find the energy to do some of them. Soon there will be exams and projects to finish; if he didn't begin, he would be in trouble later.

"But you can leave it for Sunday da? You said you didn't work Sunday. So maybe you could take a break and rest for now?"The Russian suggested, noticing the slight gloomy expression Yao had. He didn't want to discourage Yao…but at the same time, maybe he could use this opportunity to make the Asian feel better and win his affection?

"Maybe, but I am late concerning mathematic class aru. There is something I didn't understand in class and I still don't have an idea of what it means. Soon we will have the exam and I don't feel ready for that."

"What?!" Ivan asked in shock when he heard the word "exam".

"The exam will be in a few weeks aru. You didn't know about it?"

"No, I never heard about this. Kolkolkolkolkolkol~" He didn't remember hearing about an upcoming exam. Perhaps next time, he should listen in class instead of only daydreaming and admiring Yao.

"Aiya! I'm sure you will be fine if you have taken the notes that the teacher gave to us in class aru."

However, Yao's comforting words did not help the blond. In fact, Ivan didn't have taken many notes in class…most of his math notebooks consisted of doodles of Yao…and some were more inappropriate than others…

"I am not sure that I will pass this exam…"The blond said, wondering of what he should do about all this.

"You are not the only one…"Yao murmured. He hated to admit it, but he also had doubts about the exam. However, he was a little relieved that he wasn't the only one thinking that. "…if you want, I can help you if you have problems…"He added.

"Maybe tomorrow, after going out, we could come back here and study together…" The Chinese explained, noticing the puzzled look the blond was giving him."...Or forget about it. I know it's lame working on homework during the weekend aru."The Chinese said rapidly changing his mind.

"No. Yao it's a very good idea! I would gladly take your proposition. I'm sure I'll understand better if Yao-Yao will explain to me da?"The blond stated beaming a smile. The mention of the upcoming mathematic exam shocked him so much that it distracted him from his recent plans of seducing Yao.

According to this new plan, after their date, Yao would bring him back to his apartment. Of course it was to "study", but he couldn't forget that there were probabilities that they would do something else too…

"Aiyaa…I am not really a good teacher."Yao mentioned trying to hide his blushing cheeks with his sleeves.

The Asian must admit that there was some part of him that felt relieved and content to see Ivan happy again. Maybe the reason why he kept proposing things to Ivan was to see him have a smile again? After all, Yao did felt bad to hear that the Russian had a bad day. He thought that Ivan deserved to be happy.

"I'm sure I will understand better with your explanations than with the teacher's da?"

Ivan and Yao looked at each other in the eyes for a moment without saying a word. Finally, Ivan took this opportunity to put his hand on Yao's. He was delighted to see that it was going well and that his crush wanted to help him. In the end, his day was very strange and he didn't know what to think about it. It was hell when he was at school, but once he met Yao, he felt like everything was perfect. It was almost like Yao was his lucky charm; always making him cheerful in some way or another.

"I-I have to wash the dishes…"The Asian said embarrassed, once he noticed the small moment Ivan and he were having.

"Yao, don't do that! You look exhausted."The other replied, not releasing Yao's hand.

"I'm fine."

"Don't do it. I will clean them for you tomorrow da?"

"Aiya! You are my guest. It will be rude of me to let you do that aru!"

"It will be my way to thank you. I will clean it for you tomorrow, after we'll wake up."The other promised. For now, the Russian just wanted to have Yao's complete attention.

"T-thanks."

"Now you should rest maybe da? You look so tired."The Russian proposed trying to sound natural. He mischievously was still curious to know how this night will turn to be.

"I can say the same thing for you aru! You also look tired."The Chinese remarked.

"Then we should go to sleep maybe?" Ivan inquired with a smile. He hoped he didn't sound too suspicious.

As a reply, Yao gave him one of the most precious smiles Ivan has ever seen.

"There, you can go take a shower or a bath." He said, offering him some bath towels. "Make yourself at home aru. Meanwhile, I will be preparing our stuff for tonight."Yao added, still having a gorgeous smile, before heading toward his room.

_Preparing our stuff for tonight?_

These words…Ivan repeated them over and over in his head. Maybe it was only him; but the way Yao said this seemed so…suggestive. Already starting to interpret what Yao said and what the Chinese might be doing to "prepare" for this night, Ivan went to the bathroom eager to see what was going to happen.

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><p><em><strong>First of all, I would like to thank everyone for their reviews, faves and alerts. It's been a while that I haven't said it and now that I realised it's really a lot xD I really can't thank you guys enough uwu<strong>_

_**I also want to thank everyone for their patience and understanding of my lack of updates. You guys are really nice QvQ  
><strong>_

_**Once again, I hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter =) I really had a lot of fun working on it. In fact, I started working on this chapter a long time ago. This one and the following chapters are only focusing on Yao and Ivan, that's probably why I felt a little bit more motivated ^^; Also, they are my favourite chapters until now uwu  
><strong>_


	21. Chapter 21

_**Yay, a new update!**_

_**I am sorry to have taken a long time to update a new chapter, but I really didn't had much time to work on it since the last time. I had my finals and then I was away from home for Christmas, I caught a virus and I just started a new semester. In fact, I still don't feel very well because of my virus, so I am even slower than usual OTL. I am sincerely sorry.**_

_**But I have to say thank you for your patience and encouragements! QvQ I hope you guys will still enjoy this chapter. **_

_**Since I am posting this chapter in a hurry before going to work, I will reply to your reviews later, promise QvQ ! Thanks everyone~**_

_**P.S. There seems to be a problem when I posted this chapter, I think is being weird again =v= OTL Anyway, I re-posted it again to see if it could solve the problem, so I hope it works ^^; **_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 21<strong>_

After taking a quick shower, Ivan prepared to leave the bathroom, impatient to know what was actually going to happen.

Yao and he were all alone for the night; Ivan couldn't help but to wonder how this situation will end…

What was Yao preparing for? Ivan didn't stop thinking about it. In fact, he also wondered how he was supposed to react. Should he be the one who initiates it? He definitely didn't want to ruin this opportunity.

Nonetheless of what would happen though, by the end of the night, he was sure that _something_ will happen between them.

He had to admit that thinking about all this made him eager, but at the same time a little nervous; he wasn't sure of what to expect.

After taking a small moment to clear his thoughts, he finally went out of the bathroom. However, he didn't see the Chinese anywhere.

"Y-Yao?"

"I'm here aru!"

Turning his head to where the familiar voice came from, Ivan saw Yao on the couch of the living room.

"Is it okay?"Yao asked, patting his comfortable sofa covered by pillows and blankets. "I know it's not as comfy as a bed, but is it okay with you?"The Chinese added.

Ivan looked at the couch and back at Yao... Was Yao asking him if it was okay for them to do _it_ on the couch?!

"We are going to do _it_ on the couch?"The Russian inquired, shocked to hear this unexpected suggestion. Yao was less prudish than he thought.

"What?!" The Chinese said, giving the other a strange look.

With this glance, Ivan realised that Yao was probably not thinking about the same thing that he was…

"I mean if it's okay with you to sleep on the couch for tonight aru? I don't have a guest room or any futons." Yao explained. He felt a little rude for asking his guest to sleep on a sofa, but he thought it would be inappropriate and also rude to let Ivan stay in his cousins' room while they were gone.

"Y-yes, it's fine Yao."Ivan answered, hoping to hide his disappointment.

"Do you need more blankets or another pillow? If there is anything you need, feel free to ask aru."

"Can I have more blankets? I am used to sleep with more…"

"Of course. How many do you want?"The Chinese replied with a kind smile.

"Four will be great."

"Four?!"Yao repeated, looking at his guest with a shocked look. Ivan was joking right?

"Da! It will be perfect this way."The blond said with a cheerful smile.

Well, it seemed like the Russian was serious…

"Seriously, you sleep with four blankets?"Yao asked while offering the demanded blankets.

"Well sometimes I sleep with six."

"Aiya! That is insane aru!"The Chinese snapped, unbelieving what Ivan was telling him.

"I just love when it's warm and cosy da?"The blond answered with a small chuckle.

Watching Ivan warmed himself up in the blankets like a kid, made Yao laugh a little. Ivan certainly could act very cute sometimes…

"Well, I am going to take a shower." The Chinese pointed out rapidly, as if he was telling his brain to not think about such silly things. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask me aru. My room is the first one on the left; right in front of the bathroom."

Ivan nodded and silently watched Yao leaving to go to the bathroom.

What was he going to do now?

Ivan had to admit that he was upset over some little details that just happened, but nonetheless of what he was hoping to have with Yao, he felt comfortable on the couch…. It wasn't bad….

However, he still thought about the option that the situation could change…or so he hoped. Was Yao waiting for him to do the first move or propose something? Or perhaps Yao was planning something else after the shower? Or maybe, Ivan was once again simply raising his hopes for nothing.

The blond let a sigh and closed his eyes.

It was silent in the living room and except for the strong rain and the wind outside, Ivan could hear the sound of the shower in the bathroom and Yao chanting something softly.

Just to think that Yao was taking a shower right now; the image of warm water pouring Yao's naked body didn't take long to appear in Ivan's mind…

After a second thought, Ivan realised that it was probably not the best moment to think of those things, especially not on Yao's sofa. He turned around to see if he could think of something else, or at least, if he could try to fall asleep. But in the end, with the shower still on, he definitely wasn't capable of thinking about something else. After some minutes, the blond finally decided that it was useless.

Yao did mention that if something was wrong to come to his room, right? Maybe it was hint for something? And even if it wasn't, he wasn't capable to sleep now. So, in any case, it might help change his thoughts of Yao being in the shower.

Taking the initiative, the Russian slowly got up and walked into Yao's room.

At first, he hesitantly entered the room. His crush was still in the shower; therefore Ivan thought that he should possibly wait for him outside instead of entering without his authorisation. However, by curiosity, he slowly peeked in Yao's bedroom.

The room was so warm and seemed so comforting, just like the rest of Yao's apartment. There were small Chinese decorations and cute little stuff, such as Hello-kitty plushies. For some reason, the blond thought that the room perfectly matched Yao in every way.

Rapidly forgetting about his first doubts of being in Yao's room without authorisation, Ivan looked at everything, hoping to learn more about his crush.

The first thing he saw was a plushy of a giant, yet old, cute panda that was on the bed. The blond approached the plush and held it in his arms; it was so soft and cuddly! Ivan wondered if Yao slept with this plush, it seemed quite old, but it was still in such a good shape. That stuffed panda was certainly the luckiest bastard if Yao slept with it every night.

Without realising it, the Russian was actually enjoying all the things he could secretly learn about Yao with only looking around this room.

The next thing he noticed was a small picture of what Ivan assumed to be Yao's family, next to the bed. The picture was of Young Yao and his parents with two other siblings. In the picture, Yao was holding a giant stuffed panda. Even when he was a child, Yao looked really adorable.

"Aiya! Ivan?! What are you doing in my room?!"

Turning around at the very familiar voice, Ivan realised that Yao just finished his shower since he was only wearing a towel…rapidly the pair of purple eyes gazed upon the Chinese's body. Not only he had the possibility to see Yao's legs, but also, for the first time, he could see Yao's bare chest, which was very interesting. It was definitely a precious sight; especially with the fact that Yao's untied long dark hair was still wet which made the picture even more irresistible.

"Aiya, what are you doing with GunGun aru?!" The Chinese exclaimed, noticing what Ivan was holding in his arms. The sudden loud tone snapped Ivan out of his thoughts.

"GunGun? Is that the name of your plush da?"

This question quickly made the Chinese blush. Realising that it probably seemed childish, he quickly avoided the question by changing the subject.

"W-what are you doing here aru?! I could have come here naked, you know!"

"Naked?"Ivan inquired. When he thought that he was really lucky to see Yao wearing only a towel…

"J-just forget about it!"Yao replied, his face red with embarrassment, after he concluded that he wasn't wearing the greatest outfit to announce such a detail, especially not with Ivan's sudden fascinated look.

The Chinese grabbed the nearby shirt and put it quickly to cover his chest, hoping that it would make things a bit less awkward. Of course, Ivan wasn't helping since he was still looking at him like if he was naked.

"What are you doing here?" The Chinese asked for the third time already. "Did you come here because there was something wrong or do you just come here to stalk me aru?"

"…Both?"The other admitted quietly.

"…"

There was a small silence leaving Yao to look at his guest in doubts. Did he hear correctly? Did Ivan really just say "both"?

"Actually, I wanted to see you because I wasn't capable to sleep."The blond finally said.

"Why? Is it uncomfortable? Is it cold?"

"Well, it was a little cold compared to here…"

"Don't worry aru. I will change the temperature."

"You don't need to, Yao…C-can I sleep here instead?"Ivan asked, before the Asian could leave the room.

"What?!"

"I'll sleep on the floor to not bother you. Please, your room seems so much warm!"The Russian said, hoping that his crush would accept. Not only it seemed so much warm, but it also seemed more comfy, mostly because Yao was here. Compared to the living room where it was dark and lonely, Yao's room seemed more peaceful. Being here made him feel more calm and welcoming.

"I can't let you sleep on the floor aru!"Yao snapped; thinking it would be rude to leave a guest sleeping on the floor.

"Aww…"

However, the blond didn't seem like he wanted to get out, which didn't solved the problem. What was Yao supposed to do now? He was the one who invited Ivan to stay, though he simply couldn't let Ivan sleep on the floor. On the other hand, the blond didn't felt comfortable to sleep in the living room. Wasn't it also rude to let Ivan sleep somewhere that he didn't want to?

Should he simply let him sleep in his room? What was his guest exactly thinking about?

Yao was caught between a small dilemma; should he let Ivan sleep in his room or not…

He gave some thoughts about it; Ivan did prove to Yao that he could trust him a lot. Even if the Russian had weird tendencies and often looked at him perversely, in the end, Ivan also proved to him, more than once, that he could have confidence in him. Besides, if Ivan was thinking about something pervert, something would have already happened…right?

…On second thoughts, he better still keep an eye carefully on Ivan…

"…you can sleep in the bed."The Chinese finally decided.

"What?"

"I mean if you prefer it…my bed is small, especially for two… but it's better than sleeping on the floor…I guess..."

Ivan took a moment to realised what Yao just suggested.

"Yay Yao! Thank you so much!"The blond replied happily. This time, he was sure that something will happen!

"But you have to promise me to not get any ideas and to keep your distance aru. If you try something, I swear it's the last time I will be talking to you!"The Chinese warned, hoping that it will make his suggestion more clear and serious.

Well that actually was the opposite of what Ivan was thinking about, but the Russian didn't let this get him down. Somehow, he was certain that something good will come from that.

"Don't need to worry like this Yao."The other assured with a sheepish smile. Thankfully for him, Yao didn't have a clue of what was in the Russian's mind. The Chinese only hoped that Ivan was saying the true.

"I'm going to go put my pyjamas; you can start to sleep if you want aru."The Chinese mentioned.

"You can change your clothes here. I promise I won't peek, da?" The other chimed, while putting his hands in front of his face, hiding his eyes incorrectly.

"I'll come back. It will only take a few seconds aru."The other simply sighed, a little exasperated with what Ivan was trying to do. The Asian wondered if he was going to regret letting the blond stay there now.

It took only a few instants for Yao to get dressed. As he entered the room, he saw Ivan already in the bed with his eyes open and his usual sweet smile. Admittedly, Yao was hoping that Ivan would have, at least, tried to sleep, it would have made things less awkward.

With a small sigh, Yao closed the lights and shyly went to bed next to Ivan, trying to avoid looking at the other.

However, his guest was still looking at him the same way, even if now there were only a few inches separating them. The Chinese wondered why Ivan didn't seem awkward by all this.

There was a silence; once again the only sound of the strong rain and wind outside could be heard.

At this moment, Yao pondered if he should say something; perhaps a simple thing, like "good night" or "sleep well". But, before he could even say a word, Ivan started to talk.

"Yao, You know when I was a kid, I would slept in the same bed as my sisters sometimes and I always pretended to move while I was sleeping so that I would push them out of the bed. This way I always had all the entire bed just for myself!"The Russian chimed.

"…..I hope you don't intent to push me out of my bed, like you did with your sisters aru." It was the only thing that Yao could think to reply to that. It was so weird that Ivan started to talk about this so suddenly.

"Ha ha, of course not, Yao." The blond chuckled. Yao was the last person on earth he would push out of the bed. "It's just that it somehow reminded me of that, right now…it is so calm and peaceful."

"…I think I understand what you mean…"Yao said softly, he had to admit it had a reminiscing atmosphere that made him feel somehow nostalgic.

Once again, there was a silence. Now was probably the time to say "good night"? However, it seemed that something was still bothering Ivan…

"Yao…"

"Yes?"

"Can I take off your pants?"

"WHAT?!" The Chinese screamed, completely shocked to hear that. He knew that Ivan would try something, but not like this! Really?!

"I mean…can I take off the pants that I am wearing that belong to you…it kind of bothers me."Ivan explained.

"Oh…"Yao said, feeling embarrassed for reacting like that to such a question. He turned to the other side, hoping that the Russian wouldn't notice his blushing cheeks. "You can take them off as long as you are wearing something else under aru."

"Ok, Thanks."

Without showing any shame, Ivan rapidly removed the pants, leaving only his underwear. The Chinese was a little surprised that the blond didn't show any discomfort to plainly undress himself right in front of him. As soon as Ivan looked at him, Yao quickly turned his head to the other side, more than embarrassed with the fact that he was looking at the other getting undressed. Of course, it didn't look like Ivan minded this at all. The other, simply covered himself with the blankets again and smiled, still looking at Yao.

"Won't you close your eyes and go to sleep now aru?"The Chinese finally inquired, feeling that Ivan was taking amusement of seeing him flustered like this. Was the blond doing all this on purpose?

"Won't Yao-Yao close his eyes too da?"The other plainly responded.

Yao only gave a small "tsk" as a reply. He was too tired to keep up with Ivan's childish antics.

"You know Yao, I am sure we can make some place for GunGun to sleep with us, if it can help you sleep."The Russian proposed, noticing that Yao still didn't close his eyes, even after showing numerous signs that he was tired.

"Aiyaa! I don't sleep with Gu—I mean, I don't sleep with stuffed animals aru!"

"Aww, don't be embarrassed little Yao. It's really cute."The other remarked, noticing that Yao's face was red, even in the dark.

"I don't sleep with it! It's only a childhood souvenir. I had it since I was a kid, so that's why it's precious to me aru!"

"It's the same plush than in the picture da?"

It took a small moment for Yao to understand that Ivan was talking about the picture of him and his family that was right next to his bed.

"Yes."

"You were really cute when you were a kid Yao." Ivan complimented.

That was something pretty random to say at this moment. Yao only replied with a small "thanks", not knowing what to say other than that.

"Well, actually, you are _always_ really cute."The blond commented with a small laugh. Yao wasn't facing Ivan anymore, but he didn't need to, to know that the other was starting to approach him pretty closely. He could actually feel Ivan's body next to him.

"J-just go to sleep now aru. I will have to wake up early tomorrow, to go to work."The Chinese finally said while pushing away from Ivan. He was hoping that the Russian would get the clear hint that he wasn't planning to do anything tonight.

"Okay…"

However, Yao could still feel that Ivan wasn't moving away from him.

"Sleep well Yao. Have sweet dreams."The Russian chimed.

"Yeah…have sweet dreams too…"Yao replied.

Ivan let a small chuckle, he was certain that he will have great dreams.

Since Yao's last words, the room was completely silent again and because Yao's wasn't facing him, Ivan couldn't know if the other was sleeping or not.

He still approached his crush and put his arms around him, waiting to have a reaction from the Chinese.

Meanwhile, Yao, who was still awake, noticed how Ivan was actually bringing their body more closely and was embracing him with his arms…but he didn't know what to do. He didn't understand what Ivan was trying to do.

Should he shout at him and say to move away? Or simply move away from him again? The latter option wouldn't be possible, since he was already on the edge of his bed. If he continues he would fall. Who knows, maybe Ivan wanted to push him out of bed after all!

However, instead of reacting to the comportment, Yao finally let it be. Maybe it was because of the fatigue, but he didn't mind Ivan being close to him anymore. In fact, he felt truly restful and very warm. He felt quite comfortable being in his arms. Slowly, Yao put his hands on the others' and closed his eyes.

At the same moment, Ivan was surprised to feel the small grasp of Yao's smaller hands on his'. As the Russian moved a little, he saw that Yao was already sleeping…

"Sleep well Yao."He whispered to the other, covering him with the warm blankets and taking this small opportunity to approach his crush until there were no distances between them.

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><p><em><strong>I hope you guys don't mind Ivan invading Yao's personal stuff like there was no tomorrow!<strong>_

_**I sincerely understand that you guys might expect "something" intimate between these two. Well I can just say that, don't lose hop, there are still chances of that to happen! I mean, Ivan is still in Yao's apartment and they are still in the same bed x,D So who knows? **_

_**On the other hand, I have to tell you guys about a very special info. It's been one year that I started this fic! Omg time flies so fast Q_Q Endless tears. I wanted to update it on the 23 of January (since it was the anniversary of this fic), but I couldn't, so instead I'm updating it on the Chinese New Year, just like last year yay! =D So Happy Chinese New Year everyone =) **_

_** I just want to say that I am sorry that this story took so long, mostly because I take a lot of time to update OTL One year ago, I seriously thought of having finish with this fic during summer! Damn, I was **__**so**__** wrong! Anyway, this fic is actually coming to an end eventually. And I just want to thank everyone for their reviews, their faves for this story and to thank the ones who faved and alerted me uwu I am glad that you guys are still giving me a chance to improve and I hope I don't fail you guys QvQ **_

_**Thanks everyone! QvQ **_


	22. Chapter 22

_**Okay here is the chapter, sorry for being slow. =v= LOL**_

_**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy QUQ I will be extremely busy for the next weeks, so I really wanted to post it now.**_

_**I think I will make a **__**WARNING**__** and say that I did **__**rate this fic M**__** just now. In fact, I wasn't sure if I should rate it M or not, but I put it just in case. ;P If you think it's not necessary, well you can tell me xD **_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 22<strong>_

Little melodies from birds chirping outside woke up Ivan. The Russian slowly opened his eyes wondering where he was; he never recalled hearing birds outside when he would wake up in his room.

When he completely opened his eyes, though, he remembered that he wasn't in his room; he was actually in Yao's room.

The first thing he noticed, however, was that he woke up being almost on top of Yao. Thankfully, the Chinese was still sleeping peacefully and, because of the morning shines coming from the window, the scene of Yao serenely sleeping made him look so gorgeous.

Ivan rapidly blushed, not only because of the scene, but also because of his current position. Who knows, maybe he was actually someone who moved a lot during his sleep…

The Russian looked at the clock and saw that it was still very early; only 7 a.m. He guessed that he could go back to sleep, but he wasn't sleepy anymore though.

Probably the first thing he should do was to get out of his current position on top of Yao, but honestly, he didn't feel like it….He quite enjoyed being like this and to be able to see Yao sleeping. His crush looked so beautiful…

However, the more he looked at Yao, the more he had this desire to kiss him…

On second thought, perhaps it wouldn't be a great idea since Yao would be pretty mad if he would woke up and realise it. …although, at the same time, Ivan wondered why not try it?

The Chinese was sleeping peacefully and he didn't seem like he would wake up soon…maybe only a small kiss…it wouldn't be like Yao would know…right?

Finally, Ivan conceded to his desires and slowly approached his face toward Yao's.

The blond was still wondering if he was risking it, but his longing for a kiss surmounted his worries and slowly brought his lips on Yao's, finally giving him a quick kiss.

After that very short kiss, Ivan backed away and looked at Yao. The Chinese was still perfectly sleeping; he didn't move or realise anything, which really relieved Ivan. He had to admit that he was a little worried that Yao would wake up during the moment.

The blond told himself that it was perfect! He had his kiss and maybe now he should simply get out of this position. However, once again, his body didn't listen to his mind! He wanted to kiss Yao _again_, maybe this time a little longer?

Definitely not moving from his position, Ivan approached Yao again and kissed the other, this time longer and less softly.

Unfortunately, this time Ivan didn't have the same luck, since Yao gradually opened his eyes awoken by the contact of Ivan's lips.

"Ivan?" The Asian murmured, apparently he didn't seem to be completely awake.

At the sound of his name, Ivan rapidly stopped the kiss and backed a few inches away from Yao's face. To be honest, the Russian was slightly panicking and wondering how Yao would react to this.

Should he lie and tell him it was an accident? Will Yao even believe that?!

But, all the horrified situations of Yao reacting to the kiss that Ivan had pictured didn't happen. Instead of this, Yao brought his hands on Ivan's shoulders, massaging them slowly.

"…Y-Yao?" Ivan said, surprised by this reaction…This wasn't what he was expecting, but he wasn't complaining, that's for sure!

"Ivan…"Hearing Yao softly moan his name quickly melted Ivan's brain. The Chinese had such a dreamy look on his face. Ivan even wondered if this was real or if he was the one who was dreaming?!

However, even if it was a simple dream; he would not give up on this opportunity easily. Ivan came closer to Yao to try to give another kiss and he was more than glad to feel that Yao was not objecting it.

Gradually the kiss was starting to get more serious and passionate, and little by little there were no much distance separating their bodies. Of course, Ivan accepted this situation with pleasure; he dreamed of having such a moment with Yao for a very long time. At this point he didn't even care if it was a dream or not. It was _very_ enjoyable.

He could finally taste Yao's lips and feel his tongue being inside of Yao's mouth. And as if this moment wasn't enough great; Ivan felt like Yao was slowly moving his hips toward his body…

"I-Ivan…"Yao called his name again, still having a dreamy look on his face.

"Yao…"Ivan moaned huskily, trying the best he could to remain calm and to not completely lose it.

Yao was so irresistible and the small movements he was doing were _so_ agreeable…it was definitely enjoyable; he didn't even bother to try to hide his 'pleasure'. At this moment, Ivan was certain that this was only a dream…because all this was way too beautiful to be true.

However, this great moment came to an end when suddenly an extremely loud alarm clock rang, surprising both of them.

Almost simultaneously, both Ivan and Yao paused and looked at the clock and back at each other.

"…"

_It's not a dream?!_ Both of them realised at the same time, but with very different reactions.

On one hand, Ivan was beaming the brightest smile ever! In the end, this wasn't a dream it was real! Yao and he were really doing something intimate and that Yao wasn't against it.

However, on the other hand, Yao, who was now entirely awoken thanks to the alarm clock, was not having the dreamy look he had a few minutes ago. In fact, Yao was extremely shocked when he noticed the dishonourable and embarrassing situation he was having with Ivan.

Ultimately, this wasn't a dream like Yao also originally thought…so everything that happened was real! Yao's face completely went vivid red once he understood that.

With a small grin, Ivan stopped the alarm clock and looked back at Yao.

"So where were we?"Ivan asked huskily, coming closer to the Chinese. Before Yao could say anything, the Russian kissed him passionately again. Though, this time it wasn't shared by Yao who was trying his best to push away.

"Ivan! S-stop t-that!"The Asian ordered, turning his head away to avoid the kiss and hoping that Ivan couldn't see how his face was red.

The blond simply looked at Yao with confusion. Why was Yao suddenly acting like this? All of a sudden, the Chinese seemed embarrassed, while a few moments ago he wasn't having any shame on what he was doing. It was strange…

Ivan was sure that Yao was starting to feel comfortable being with him…so why was the smaller one reacting like this.

Since he definitely didn't want to stop, the blond finally came to the conclusion that perhaps Yao wanted something else…he started to kiss Yao on his neck; unfortunately, the reaction didn't change.

"I-Ivan stop!" The Chinese said more firmly this time. Yao was certainly about to start panicking because Ivan wasn't listening to him. What was he supposed to do?! This situation was already embarrassing for him, he didn't want to make it worse or hurt Ivan.

However, before he could think of a reasonable plan, Yao completely lost his cool when he felt a certain cold hand sliding into his pants.

"AIYAA! STOP NOW ARU!" The Chinese snapped, automatically striking the other in his stomach.

"Ouch!" The Russian whined, rapidly removing his hand from Yao's pants to put it on his stomach.

Okay, Yao might be small, but he sure was strong. Ivan promised to never underestimate the Chinese's strength again.

"What the hell were you trying to do to me, you pervert?!"Yao inquired, moving away from Ivan.

"Y-Yao …"

The Russian seriously didn't know how to respond, in fact, he didn't even know what just happened right now. Why did things ended up so badly, so rapidly?!

"I trust you, I invite you to my home and accept to share food and offer you a place to sleep and you …you do inappropriate things to me?!"

"But Yao, you seemed okay with it…"The blond murmured slowly.

"Aiyaa…I-I thought it was a dream!"The Chinese admitted.

"…You dream of the two of us doing _this_ too?"Ivan asked, feeling quite happy to hear this revelation.

At this instant, Yao's face went once again entirely red; Ivan only wondered if it was from embarrassment or anger…or a combination of both?

"Get out now!"The Chinese ordered.

"B-but Yao what about the clothes I am wearing?"

"You can keep them aru. GET OUT!"

"Yao!"

Since Ivan didn't seem like he wanted to move, Yao got up and pushed him out of his bedroom.

"And go away before my cousins see you aru!"Yao screamed from the other side of the door.

Ivan only stood in front of the door for a moment…he seriously didn't know if he should start to laugh or if he should take this situation very seriously…

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><p>After going out of Yao's apartment, Ivan was still wondering about what to think of what happened.<p>

In the end, he thought that it was probably normal that Yao seemed so embarrassed since he was quite shy and proud…It would be a great idea to leave Yao alone for a few moments until he would calm himself. Meanwhile, Ivan would go home and change his clothes. After all, he was still wearing a Hello-Kitty shirt, so he felt a little bit ridiculous to walk around wearing this.

"Vanya! There you are!" His older sister exclaimed, once he put the first step into his house.

"Ukatarina?"

"Vanya, where were you? I called you over ten times, didn't you see your messages?!"The older sister said while crying.

"No, I haven't. I'm sorry. I forgot to check…"Ivan answered.

"Ivan, we were _so_ worried..."And Ukatarina continued talking, apparently explaining how Natalia and her were worried, and that they searched for him everywhere, but honestly Ivan couldn't understand a thing of what she was saying because she was also crying at the same time.

"It's okay. Don't need to cry, Sis. I was fine da? I spend the night at a friend's house…it was really…_nice_." Ivan explained with a big smile, thinking about the events of this morning…it was indeed very _nice_.

"W-well, I am glad that you are good. Next time at least send a message, okay?"She finally calmed herself, cleaning the rest of her tears and giving a soft smile. "You came at a great time. I was about to start the cleaning."

"Well I only came home to change my clothes… I'll have to go now. I have to meet someone. It's important."Ivan rapidly said. The last thing he wanted to do right now was to clean the house.

"What? But Vanya you are supposed to help me with the cleaning today…"

"Yeah…I am sorry, the meeting with my friend is very important. However, I would appreciate if you could wash these clothes after I change da? It belongs to my friend."The Russian announced quickly heading to his room before his sister could ask him for more stuff.

* * *

><p>After a quick change of clothes—and running out of his house before his sister could notice— Ivan felt that he was ready for his date with Yao. He put on some nice clothes and hoped that Yao would feel better now…<p>

He was sure that the Chinese probably had forgotten about his anger and, after starting their date, he was certain that things would return to normal.

Ivan entered the café; Yao said his shift would be finished at noon, but he thought it wouldn't hurt if he would go there a few minutes earlier. Besides, it's been a while since he didn't see Yao in his beautiful maid outfit.

"Hello my little sunflower~" The Russian chimed, sitting at a table that Yao was cleaning.

"I'm not talking to you anymore!"The Chinese said, turning away.

"Aww, Yao you are still mad da?"

"Aiyaa! Of course aru! You think I will forget what happened that easily?"Yao complained. He still seemed to be angry.

"But Yao I did nothing wrong da? I only kissed you and the rest was encouraged by you."The Russian defended himself.

"What?"

"Da! Don't you remember? You were the one who started to grind into me. And you were moaning and you were blushing and—"

"AIYAA! I-I- Never did this! You are such a pervert!"

"Yes you did! Don't blame me for this da? If you wouldn't encourage me and sound so seductive, I wouldn't continue! …_Probably_!" Ivan whined.

"H-Hey, don't turn the tables on me! You were about to do something inappropriate if I wouldn't have stopped you aru! Where do you think you were putting your hands?"The Chinese replied back.

"My hand just slipped!"

"You think I believe that aru?!"Yao snapped, thinking that this was the worse excuse ever.

"Hum, I'm bothering you two?"A stern and strict voice said, snapping both of them from their little talk.

"HAAA!" Yao exclaimed once he turned around to see that it was his manager.

In fact, not only was his manager there listening to the conversation, but he realised that almost everyone else in the café was also looking at them…Were they talking loudly? Yao definitely didn't want other people to know their discussions.

"Who are you?" Ivan asked rudely, noticing a tall Swedish blond man with a serious expression on his face.

"Stop it! It's my manager!"Yao muttered to Ivan.

"Ha…"

"Is everything okay, Yao?" The Swedish inquired to his employee with a slightly concerned voice which made Ivan frown.

"E-everything is fine, sir."

"Are you having troubles with your client?"He questioned again, completely ignoring Ivan.

"What? No! Don't worry sir, it's an acquaintance aru."

"What? We are way more than that, Yao!"Ivan suddenly remarked.

"Y-You can go away sir. I can take care of him on my own aru."Yao confirmed, trying to not sound affected by Ivan's remark.

"If there is something wrong, you can ask for help."The manager finally said, before going away.

"Kolkolkolkolkolkol~ It looks like he is very protective of you…"The Russian noticed, not liking that.

"Aiyaa! He is just being a kind manager aru! Don't you dare make any crazy assumptions! He has a wife and a son! Such rumours can ruin a life."Yao commented with a serious tone.

"Really? A son? He didn't look that old…I'm sorry" Ivan admitted.

Yao frowned when he heard that; this was really not what Ivan should be saying sorry for. The blond hasn't even apologized yet for what he did this morning.

"But I still don't like the way he was protective of you."The Russian added.

"Okay! Can you go away now aru?"Yao inquired, a little tired of Ivan's comportment.

"What? No! I am staying until we have our date!"The Russian declared.

"Our date aru? We won't have any date. Not after what happened. Besides, I have other stuff to take care of after work."Yao replied, avoiding looking at the other since he knew that Ivan would object.

"B-but Yao, you promised me."

"You also promised me to not do anything suspicious last night before going to bed aru. But you didn't even keep your distance."He answered, remembering that not long before he closed his eyes Ivan was already snuggling him last night.

Yao thought that his answer was clear and official, however Ivan didn't share this thought. He didn't want Yao to go away that easily; it wasn't fair! He still wanted to have a date with him. This date was what he was really looking forward to during these last days and he didn't want to waste this chance only because of that.

"Kolkolkolkolkolkol~"

Before Yao could go very far, Ivan rapidly tried to grab on something and without noticing he grabbed on the maid dress.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" The Chinese yelled, once he felt Ivan grabbing his dress. Unknown to him, this immediately gained the attention of everyone in the café.

"Give me another chance da? I promise I won't take it too far this time, Yao!"The other shouted childishly, ignoring the antsy Chinese.

"I-Ivan, take your hands out off there!"The Chinese muttered trying to pull his dress down before everyone at this café could see his underwear.

"Hey…Is there something wrong?"The manager came back again from nowhere with a concerned expression. He knew that Yao said that he could handle his customer, but right now, it almost seemed like it was sexual harassment from some point of view. And as long as he was the manager there, no such things would happen at his café.

"He doesn't want to get out!"Yao whined, admitting that he needed help.

"B-But I am here for our date. So I'm only waiting impatiently da?"The Russian replied once he saw the manager glaring at him.

"Date?"

"Aiyaa! Don't listen to him, sir!"Yao snapped.

"…So you are his boyfriend?"The Swedish asked to the client, completely ignoring what the waiter just said.

"…"

There was a small silence…

"NO! W-we are not aru!"The Chinese screamed, but unfortunately for him, it didn't seem like his manager was listening to him.

"I see…"The blond Swedish said with a thoughtful expression. So this was probably not sexual harassment after all… right?

"Da! Do you understand?"Ivan replied.

"Aiyaa! No, he is not!"The Chinese denied his face turning red. He felt that it was the hundredth time since he hung out with Ivan that he had to confirm that the Russian wasn't his boyfriend.

"You are not my boyfriend! No matter what happened last night and this morning, nothing between us is confirmed aru!" He added hoping that Ivan would comprehend.

It took a small moment of silence for Yao to realise that what he just said sounded quite wrong and ambiguous…and the fact that he could see that Mathias and Nicolai stopped working to listen clandestinely to his conversation made him also realised that probably all the other people around him were listening as well…

"What do you mean by confirmed da? Do we need to sleep together again?"The Russian questioned naively, not understanding what Yao meant. Of course, he didn't know that their conversation was heard by a lot of people and therefore didn't understand why Yao's face went red…Ivan was only hoping he wouldn't be because of anger again…

"N-No! No! No! NO! It's not what you think! We didn't do…"Yao snapped in panic at his manager who was still standing next to him, though he hoped that this was a clear answer for everyone else who was listening.

"So are you the customer who comes here every day?"The manager inquired instead. Unlike probably the rest of the people who were carefully listening to the conversation, the Swedish was in deep thoughts all along and didn't really pay attention to what the two people next to him were saying.

"What?"Yao expressed.

"…Yes?"Ivan said, not sure of what to expect from this.

"You _are_ that client. Thanks to you, our profit increased of 20%."He announced with a slight more intonation in his voice. He did hear from Nicolai and Mathias that "Yao's boyfriend" would come to the café almost every day and buy a lot of stuff. In this situation, he could officially state that this Russian was a regular client and that this profit was somehow thanks to him.

"What?!"Yao expressed again, not believing what he just heard.

"In fact, this is for you Yao."He said giving a small envelope to his employee.

Confused by all this, the Chinese checked the envelope to see that it was his paycheck. He opened it and saw that he seemed to have got a raise!

"W-what?"Yao expressed yet again, completely bewildered.

"Since our profit increased. It's safe to say that we can also increase the salary."The manager finally admitted. As soon as he mentioned this, both Mathias and Nicolai approached him to demand their paycheck.

"…"

Yao was totally speechless; he absolutely didn't know what to say or how to react.

"Thanks for everything. I can cut Yao's working shift of today so that you two can go on your date earlier as a thanks. Have a nice day."The manager declared, before leaving the place.

"What?!"Yao said for the nth time.

Ivan beamed a big cheerful smile when he heard that, he was sure that he would absolutely have a date with Yao nonetheless. After all he did help him to get a raise.

"You were right Yao-Yao; your manager is really kind da?"The Russian chimed while looking at Yao's astonished face.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Oh no, our lovebirds had a small fight! Hopefully it wouldn't last long. ^^; lol<br>**_

_**I am sorry that I didn't write Sweden with his usual accent, I don't know how to write it to be honest, so I decided to leave it to your imagination x,D lol  
>I also wanted to add Sweden say something like "Thanks to your contribution, I can pay for my son's Universities studies." to Russia (which was a joke from The Simpsons) lol xD but I thought it would really be extremely exaggerating, especially since Ivan is just a student lol <strong>_

_**Anyway, I hope you guys liked this chapter =) As I said, things will start to be kind of more 'serious' between Yao and Ivan from now on and this was only the beginning. ^^ **_

_**Btw, just by curiosity, did anyone also think that it was a dream at the beginning? XD**_


	23. Chapter 23

_**Hey, guys! I am sorry that I haven't updated in a long time. **_

_**I know some of you were worried about the lack of updates, I am so sorry TUT I feel bad. But I really had to finish my finals first. And after that, I somehow found it difficult to continue writing, because, as some of you may know, English is not my first language. So when I was writing I always felt like something was missing or that I couldn't describe some stuff correctly. That's why it took longer than expected. Anyway, I think it's better now and since I finished with school, I now hope to work on my fics and update more frequently…though don't quote me on that TuT I will do my best nonetheless to work on them I promise QuQ**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 23<strong>_

"Stop following me aru!"

"I'm not following you! I'm just walking in the same direction as you."The Russian said, still continuing to follow his crush.

As a reply, The Chinese only let a "tsk" and continued walking fast while trying his best to ignore Ivan.

Since he finished his shift, Ivan didn't stop following him and trying to convince him to still go on a date. Unfortunately for the blond, Yao hasn't forgotten about what happened this morning. No matter what Ivan do, the Chinese was still bothered by the fact that Ivan didn't seem to be apologetic for what happened this morning.

Nonetheless, Yao decided that he didn't have the time to think about this for now; he had other stuff to do, such as go grocery shopping. The Asian was certain that once he would start with his daily chores, Ivan would give up on following him…however, unlike what he thought, the Russian didn't give up easily. Yao already finished doing his groceries and Ivan was still following him as if it was nothing.

"Yao, do you need help with bringing your groceries?" Ivan asked, completely ignoring the fact that Yao was still frustrated.

"No, I don't." The other said sulking, while walking faster.

Yao was definitely cute when he was anger…although; Ivan had to admit that he couldn't wait for him to be cheerful again…If only he could find a way to make him happy.

The blond originally thought that giving Yao the chance to finish his shift earlier would make him forget about his anger, but it seemed like it made things worse for some reason.

The more Ivan thought about it, the more he was sure that what he needed to do was to show how deeply sorry he was by offering something nice to Yao. The first thing that came to his mind was to buy flowers since it was always the thing that made him happy when he was sad as a child. Maybe this would make Yao feel better?

The second Ivan thought of changing his plans and go to the nearby florist, he saw that Yao stopped walking and went into a certain shop. Out of curiosity, Ivan decided to get closer to the small shop until he realised that it was a travel agency. Rapidly, this made the Russian somehow anxious.

Why was he suddenly entering that shop? Maybe, in the end, Yao was so frustrated with what happened that he decided to go out of the country?!

At this moment, Ivan completely forgot about his idea to get flowers and directly entered the travel agency, hoping to know what Yao was planning to do.

The moment he entered, he saw Yao taking some pamphlets about traveling to China. Ivan couldn't help but to notice how sad his expression was….At this moment, Ivan _really_ wanted to make Yao happy again…

"Hello sir, can I help you?" A clerk, who seemed to appear from nowhere, asked Ivan.

"Shut!"The Russian ordered, not wanting anything to distract him from observing Yao.

"…Okay…"The employee simply responded, going away slowly.

Once the clerk went away, Ivan noticed that Yao took some magazine. However, this time, he could see Yao smile a little. Very curious to know what Yao was looking at, he silently approached the other until he was only a few inches behind him and could peek at the magazine he was reading.

"There is a Disney Park in Hong Kong?" Ivan inquired with shock and interest.

"HAA!" Yao instantly screamed out of surprised, after unexpectedly hearing the familiar voice. Of course, after a couple of seconds, he wasn't much surprised to see that it was Ivan…

"I didn't know that there was a Disney Park there! Ha, it looks so fun! I have never been to a Disney park!" Ivan added cheerfully, once again not paying attention to Yao's annoyed expression.

"Ivan, what are you doing here?! You have nothing to do here aru! Go away!" The Chinese replied more rudely than he wanted to.

"No, that's not true... I also came here to know more information about traveling." Ivan lied, noticing that Yao still didn't seem in a good mood.

"Yeah sure…"Yao muttered, rolling his eyes.

"No, it's true! I decided to do like you and visit my home country too."

"Really?" Yao questioned, a little shocked to hear that.

"Da."

Ivan was glad to see that Yao seemed to be quite interested in what he just said. He thought that maybe he could use this opportunity to have a nice conversation with him again…Unfortunately; his plan rapidly didn't end like he wanted…

"So why do you also have a magazine about traveling in China aru?" Yao remarked, noticing that Ivan took a similar magazine that he had.

"…It's for other plans." Ivan answered quietly. He could always use this information if one day he had intentions of suddenly catching a specific plane to China…or stopping one for that matter…

Yao only gave a bewildered look at the other…in the end; Ivan was just stalking him, as usual…

"So what happened to Russia? Did it re-localised in China?" Yao commented sarcastically, pointing out the fact that what Ivan said earlier didn't make any sense. However, unexpectedly, he just saw a small grin appear on the blond's face.

"Why are you grinning like that aru?"

"What you said sounded perverted…"The Russian chuckled, thinking of a completely different thing. Obviously, such a comment simply made Yao walk out of the store without a word.

Okay, Ivan came to the conclusion that _maybe_ today wasn't probably the best day to say such things to Yao….

"Yao, please wait for me!" Ivan tried to catch up with the other.

"No!"

"Can you at least tell me why you went to the travel agency da?"

"It's none of your business Ivan." The other replied back; hoping that Ivan would eventually stop following him. But ultimately, Ivan was as stubborn as the Chinese and continued to follow him until they arrived to Yao's apartment building.

"Yao!"

"Ivan, you are not going to my apartment aru." Yao sighed, before going inside the building.

"B-but I have many other plans for us to do on this date." Ivan said, with a saddened expression. He had planned them to go to the park or at a restaurant.

"Aiyaa! This wasn't a date! It was only you stalking me as usual aru!"

"But can we do my plans now? Yao please?" Ivan asked once more, with a disappointed expression on his face.

Even if at the moment Yao hated to admit it, Ivan's disappointment was making him feel guilty. There was a part of him who wanted to forget about everything and say 'yes', but at the same time, he was still frustrated…Looking at saddened Ivan was making him confused; he didn't know what to think or do anymore.

"Ivan, just go home...please. I don't want to hurt or disappoint you again aru... " Yao finally said gently, looking at him one last time before leaving and entering the building.

Ivan observed the Chinese who went away. No matter what, he wouldn't go home without Yao accepting his apologies. For the first time of the day, his crush talked to him with a very kind tone. He thought it was a very good sign, but now, what he absolutely wanted was to make him completely cheerful.

* * *

><p>"Hello, how can I help you?" A clerk automatically inquired right after Ivan took the first step into the florist shop. The Russian only wondered why all the clerks seemed so annoying today?<p>

"No it's okay, I just want to buy some flowers to apologize to someone very important da?" Ivan plainly answered, hoping that the damn clerk would leave him alone.

"Interesting ~ May I ask which kind of apology? Each kind of flowers has a certain significance that might make your beloved one happy."

"Ha…I see…" Ivan simply responded. Honestly, he only wanted to buy beautiful flowers that would make Yao cheerful, he didn't really bother about the significance of the flowers… He already had in mind to choose sunflowers because it was his favourite kind of flowers. Though, on the other hand, if there might be another kind of flower that could do the work, he wouldn't be against it. However, he also honestly thought that the annoying clerk would probably be completely useless…

"So if you tell me more, I might be able to help you choose nice flowers." The man added seeing that the client seemed unconvinced.

"Uh…I simply want something to say sorry for trying to touch him without his authorisation da?"

"…" There was a deep silence as the clerk was completely bewildered and speechless…

Just like Ivan thought, that person was _entirely_ useless. In the end, he should just choose the sunflowers…

* * *

><p>Once arrived home, Yao decided to clean the dishes hoping that it would clear his mind.<p>

When he arrived, he noticed Yong's shoes at the entrance. He was certain that his Korean cousin was still sleeping, which would make sense since his concert probably finished late last night. And knowing Yong, he wouldn't go directly to sleep after the end of the concert. Kiku, on the other hand, didn't seem like he came home yet, therefore Yao assumed that he was still at his friends' house.

The Chinese wasn't used to be alone at home so early on a Saturday and he thought that his apartment was actually quiet…and lonely…

He had to admit that it was almost boring, which was the reason why he started to do the house chores. While cleaning the dishes, he remembered moments from yesterday night, when Ivan promised to help him clean the dishes during the morning. Of course, due to the events of the morning, they didn't have the chance to...

Thinking about everything that happened today was making him frustrated. Not only Ivan had the nerve of doing inappropriate stuff to him while he was half asleep, but that Russian also –somehow— ended up convincing his manager to cut his shift of the day. As if he wasn't already making his job complicated…or his life for that matter. Now, he understood why Kiku and Yong warned him to be careful… Though, what seriously made things worse for Yao was the fact that Ivan didn't even seem to be apologetic about the earlier events. Except for saying a small 'sorry', Ivan didn't even stop stalking him for the rest of the day. The blond even had the nerve to say that Yao was the one who was encouraging him during the morning event.

On the other hand, when he thought about it deeply, there was also another part of him who realised that Ivan wasn't as bad as he might be thinking…only remembering about how sad Ivan was a few moments ago made the Chinese feel truly bad. Maybe he was harsh with him today…

Yao thought about the scene of this morning again…he could remember the kiss he had with Ivan…and when he kissed him back…until things started to go a little further… His heart started to beat faster as he remembered when their bodies were very close to each other…

Exactly as he remembered this, Yao automatically blushed.

Why was he thinking about this?! And now, he also pondered why he didn't stop Ivan sooner, before things escaladed badly. If he would have made it clear to Ivan that he didn't wanted to continue, things wouldn't probably end up so negatively and maybe both of them wouldn't be upset right now…

_Maybe things wouldn't have ended badly if I wouldn't have stopped Ivan…_ The Chinese wondered before realising the meaning of his own thoughts…

"AIYAA!"

Why this thought did even cross his mind?!

The Chinese simply stopped doing the chores and assumed that he was reacting like that because he was tired. He was awoken since early this morning and went to bed pretty late yesterday, that must been why… He really needed to rest and forget, for a couple of minutes, about Ivan and what happened with him.

As he lay down on his couch, he saw a school uniform that was on the edge of the couch. It didn't take much time for Yao to recognise that it was Ivan's clothes from yesterday… He forgot to give it to Ivan and now that he thought about it, he realised that he would have to give it to the Russian before Monday. Ultimately, that also meant that he would have to face him sooner or later.

Yao took the clothes and realised how much bigger and warm they were compared to what he would wear…Ivan always seemed to wear warm clothes, such as vests and scarfs, even during nice weather…which made sense, if he took into account that Ivan always seemed to be cold. Even his hands were cold…but they were also very soft…

"Aiyaa! Why am I thinking about weird stuff again?!" He yelled to himself, throwing the clothes away from him.

No matter what, for some reason, he didn't stop thinking about Ivan and it was driving him crazy!

_I just need to rest aru. _Yao kept repeating to himself, trying to desperately finding something that would completely make him forget about the Russian.

As he looked around, he noticed that he could use this opportunity to read the mail he received not so long ago. Of course, he wasn't much surprised to see that almost all the mail they received were small packages and magazines about technology for Kiku or Yong. Since the Chinese absolutely wanted to think about something else, he took one of the magazines. However, as he was about to open it, he realised that there was a letter in the pile that was addressed to him…

* * *

><p>Ivan stood in front of the apartment building of Yao with a bouquet of sunflowers in his hands.<p>

Now the problem that he had to face was how he would enter the apartment?!

He was sure that if he would call Yao and ask him to open the door, the other wouldn't accept. However, the doors of the building were locked for the people who didn't live there. He never thought that visiting Yao would be this complicated…he seriously couldn't think of any solutions that could make him enter.

Discouraged, Ivan gave a big sigh and sat on the small stairs that was in front of the building.

"Oh, young man did you lost your keys?" An unfamiliar voice inquired.

Ivan turned around to see an old lady that he never saw before in his life. Since there were no one else around, he assumed that she was talking to him…

"What?" He asked unsure of what to respond to her.

"My poor child! There I will open the door for you so that you won't freeze outside." She said, as she took her keys and opened the door of the building.

There were a lot of things that Ivan didn't understood. However, he soon realised that she probably thought that he was a resident of the building who forgot his keys…and this was a chance to not miss; it was almost like a miracle!

"Yes! Thank you lady." He replied, not wasting a second to enter the building.

Now finding Yao would be an –almost—piece of cake! He knew the number and the level of the apartment, his only hope now was for Yao to let him enter.

Trusting that he had still some luck on his side, he gently knocked on the door….however, after a while of waiting; nobody came to open it…

The blond wondered if he should knock once more, but at the same time, he thought that maybe Yao knew it was him and didn't want to open.

Ivan never lived in an apartment and wasn't used to it, but just to try, he turned the doorknob and was surprised to see that the door was unlock…

This was probably an unsafe action coming from Yao; though, he honestly couldn't complain since it let him enter easily.

Taking this opportunity, the Russian slowly entered the apartment and gently closed the door. He knew it was strange to enter the apartment like this and that probably his crush wouldn't be pleased, but this was a risk he wanted to take. At first, he was sure that once he would enter someone would have noticed him, however, it was the opposite... He could see Yao in his living room, but the Chinese was focused on reading a particular letter.

Ivan quietly took off his shoes and walked to where Yao was; making sure to be careful to not startle him. He could see Yao reading the letter and a small, yet, adorable smile appearing on his face. Ivan peeked behind the couch to see that the letter was all written in Chinese…It was too bad; he really was curious to know what it was saying. However, he was convinced that it came from Yao's family; and whatever was written in it, was making Yao so happy. It was sweet.

"It's looks nice." He suddenly commented.

"HA!" Yao screamed, shocked to hear the familiar voice coming from behind. For the second time of the day, he turned around to see Ivan behind him.

Damn it! Right at the moment where he cleared his mind and was about to forget about the Russian, there he appeared from out of nowhere in _his_ apartment.

"What are you doing here again aru?!"

"The door was open, so I entered…"Ivan explained.

Yao sighed; he let the door open for when Kiku would come home, but it didn't explain, how in the world, the Russian entered the building.

"I came here to apologize to you da? I brought this for you." The blond added, offering him the bouquet of sunflower.

"Sunflowers?"

"I hope you like them da? It's my favourite kind of flowers." Ivan stated with a sweet smile.

"W-well, yes, they are pretty." Yao mentioned taking the flowers. He had to admit, he wasn't expecting to receive flowers, so he didn't know what to say.

"So does that make you happy?"

"Don't think I can forget about everything that easily aru."The Chinese clearly declared, giving a small glare to the other.

"Aww, so you don't like them?" Ivan expressed with a sad tone.

"I never said that!" Yao rapidly announced. "They are really beautiful aru...Thanks." He added with a small smile. "And there…these are your clothes. I washed them and they are all clean." Yao also said; taking the clothes he actually threw on the couch a while ago and giving them to Ivan.

"Thanks Yao. I will also bring the clothes you let me borrow."

He gave a smile to the Chinese and he was glad to see that the other also gave a small smile back.

Things seemed to become better…

"Now get out aru!" Yao finally ordered.

…or maybe not…

"Yao, I'm very sorry for what happened this morning." The Russian said.

"Aiya! It took you long enough to say sorry aru!"Yao snapped.

"W-what?" The other asked confused by Yao's reaction.

"Forget about it…it's not important." Yao sighed with a small discrete pout.

"Yao-Yao, what can I do to make you forgive me da?"

"Nothing aru…"Yao answered plainly. This made Ivan even more confused, Yao sure was a big puzzle today.

"I think we should have a talk aru." The Asian declared. Although, he was shocked to hear that the first reply that came from Ivan was a big gasp. He looked at the Blond to realise that Ivan was having a mixed expression of shock and worry.

"A talk?!" Ivan repeated. That was never a good sign, right?!

"Ivan…it's okay." The Chinese stated, with a slightly concerned voice. He wasn't expecting Ivan to react like that. The Russian gave a small nod and sat with him on the couch.

"…I think that we probably should forget about what happened this morning aru…" Yao started, while avoiding looking at Ivan so that the other wouldn't see his blushing face.

"Oh Yao, I will never forget about this in my entire life." Ivan honestly confirmed. Unfortunately, this made him gain a dark glare from Yao.

"B-but I will try to forget about it, da? Just for you!" Ivan added.

"A-as I was saying, I think that we should not talk about what happened this morning aru… And I also want to apologize…. I was harsh with you today and you weren't the only one to blame. I am sorry Ivan; I shouldn't have acted like I did with you today."

Ivan looked at Yao. Was he hearing correctly? His crush also wanted to apologize to him?

"Aww. Yao it's okay." Ivan said, automatically giving the other a hug.

The Chinese was taken aback by this hug. Yao honestly disliked when people would surprise him affectionately like that, but he still decided to return the hug…In the end, being with Ivan _wasn't_ bad… maybe he didn't dislike Ivan as much as he thought…

"Can we still have our date?" Ivan asked enthusiastically, before realising that Yao's face was completely red for some reason. As an answer, the Chinese avoided to look at the other. He wasn't sure of the reason why he was flustered like that, but he absolutely didn't want the other to comment on that.

Even though Yao said that the events of the morning should be forgotten, the idea of going on a date was only reminding him of what happened earlier. If they go on a date maybe they would end up kissing or doing some other stuff…and for now he certainly didn't want to have more silly thoughts to think about, especially since Ivan and he were in "good terms" again.

"I-I don't feel like it."

"Aww."

As expected, Ivan was once again disappointed by this answer.

"Well can we still do something together da?" Ivan inquired, hoping that he would be able to spent time with Yao; he didn't want to leave now.

"Maybe…"

"If it doesn't bother you, we can study for maths da? You know just like we planned yesterday." The Russian suggested happily. Even if this day didn't happen like he wished for, it didn't mean that they couldn't follow some of the plans they organised yesterday.

"It doesn't bother me aru. But are you sure you want to do something that boring on a Saturday afternoon aru?" Yao replied.

"I don't mind. You are the teacher da? I'm sure it's going to be interesting."

"Okay, if you want to." Yao quickly organised the small table that was in front of the couch that seemed to be very convenient for studying.

"Are you hungry Ivan? Or do you want to drink something? Eating snacks while studying helps aru." The Chinese proposed.

"Yeah, maybe some snacks will be a good idea." Ivan happily replied, he honestly thought that having some snacks would distract from study, but he definitely wasn't against it.

In all sincerity, he was simply really happy that everything was okay between Yao and him again.

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><p><em><strong>Wow, that chapter is probably weird…I don't know, I feel like something is missing and I feel like it was long but nothing much happened…I am sorry if it's like that OTL But I really wanted the "conflict" to be "resolved" somehow quickly, leaving a place for Yao to accept more his feelings toward Ivan. This fic is kinda long, so now, I really want things to get more serious between Ivan and Yao so that they can have more moments before the end of the fic. That is why I didn't want the conflict to last longer lol TuT I hope you can understand. But there are still more stuff here and there that isn't solved yet, so it always seems like some stuff could happen. <strong>_

_**Anyway, I hope guys enjoyed QuQ It's really nice to hear that people are liking it and enjoying my fic, it makes me happy uwu Again I am sorry about the long time I took to update, but I hope my updates wouldn't be that longue now QuQ **_

_**Thanks everyone! QuQ**_


	24. Chapter 24

_**Hey guys, I am sorry for the incredibly late updates recently. I am definitely not giving up on any of my fics, I simply was really busy during my summer vacation OTL Anyway, as an apology, I wrote a longer chapter and I hope you guys will find it interesting and will like it. I hope that somehow it can be my way to sincerely and deeply thank all of you to be so nice and patient with me QUQ Your nice reviews always made me smile during the past months and I am really grateful for that. QUQ **__**Thanks a lot everyone! **_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 24<strong>_

When Yao came back from the kitchen, he didn't come with only "some snacks"; he came back with a lot of them!

The Chinese put a huge variety of delicacies on the table. Ivan was shocked in front of all the types of snacks that there was. He certainly didn't know what to choose! Though he was definitely interested in the ones he never saw which he assumed were probably Asian.

Nonetheless, they all really seemed _so_ delicious! The Russian simply wondered which one he should taste first.

"Make yourself at home aru. If you want another glass, you can ask." Yao announced while giving to his guest a glass of water.

"Thanks Yao." The Russian said, still pondering which snack he should eat first.

On the other hand, Yao put his math schoolbook and notebook in the small remaining place that didn't have snacks on the table. He organised everything for it to be a perfect place for studying. However, instead of starting the revision, both of them were way more distracted with eating the snacks.

"…Yao, can I ask you what was the letter you were reading when I arrived here?" Ivan suddenly inquired.

"The letter?"

At the mentioning of it, Yao looked back at the letter in question that he left on the sofa. Ever since Ivan arrived, he almost forgot about it.

"The letter is from my parents aru." He said, before taking a bite on one of his snacks. By simply looking at Ivan, he could see that the other's eyes were still filled with confusion. He was sure that the Russian was wondering about many things. Usually, he didn't like to share such details with people that weren't relatives, but for some reason, he didn't mind to talk about this with Ivan right now.

"My birthday is coming soon and they sent me a card for it aru."

"Aww~ That's sweet." Ivan noted with a cute chime. At the same time, he thought that this information was very interesting. Yao's birthday was coming? Now, he was even more curious to know about these details. "Is your birthday this week?"

"No…actually it's in almost two weeks from today aru. My parents just like to send things sooner than usual, in case I won't receive it before my birthday aru."Yao explained. To him, this was a common habit of his parents; he was used to them sending things way earlier. On the other hand, he couldn't really blame them. After all, it's never guaranteed that things would arrive on time by the mail considering that they are living in different countries.

"Ha…they are precautious…" Ivan remarked. He couldn't deny how much he wanted to learn more about Yao's birthday. However, he also didn't want to show much excitement about it, afraid to sound too suspicious. At the same time, he automatically thought that maybe he could buy a gift for Yao that would win his heart. "Which day is your birthday, Yao?"

"October the first aru."

Ivan thought about it; two weeks could pass so fast if one doesn't pay attention. If he wanted to buy something great for Yao's birthday, he would have to think and organise things rapidly. And at the same time, he also needed to think about the amount of money he would need.

"Do you plan on doing something special da?" The blond asked.

"No." Yao plainly answered.

"…What?! Why?!" Ivan asked again, shocked to hear this answer.

"I usually celebrate my birthday with my family, but on the first week of October, my cousins are going to an anime convention in another city aru. So they won't be there on that day. Therefore we promised to simply celebrate it another day." The Chinese revealed.

"What?! That's awful. They leave you all alone on the day of your birthday?" The other exclaimed, shocked and quite frustrated to hear this.

Ivan thought it was so unfair! He would give anything to be able to celebrate this day with Yao and make him happy; yet the ones that Yao was relying on didn't even cared and decided to leave him alone…

"W-well, they did invite me to go with them to the convention aru. But I didn't want to go." Yao replied, surprised to see the Russian reacting this way. The last time he went with them to an anime convention, he discovered that his cousins took some things way too seriously and some events ended up being overly awkward…

"Besides I will have to work on this day aru." Yao added nonchalantly.

"Why? Can't you take the day off?" Ivan questioned.

"Yes…but there is no point. Nobody will be there for my birthday." Yao responded quietly.

Ivan only thought of one thing….he _definitely_ could be there….

"I always celebrate my birthday with my family aru. If I didn't spend the day with my siblings or my parents; it would have been with my cousins. It was always like that. And I do it just so that we can spend some time together. If they are not here, I don't really care..."

"Is this why you were looking at the voyage magazines to China? You are planning to visit your parents da?" Ivan asked once again.

"What? No…I can't travel right now because of school and my work…Don't forget that there are exams soon aru!" The Chinese pointed out, giving a frown at the other.

Ivan only nodded upon hearing that; he had to confess that recently he would rapidly forget about his responsibilities related to school.

Nonetheless of that small remark though, none of them noticed that they haven't even opened their schoolbooks to study yet…

"I just took these magazines because I am somehow homesick aru. I can't wait to visit them during the summer holidays…" Yao confessed. Even if he didn't want to admit it so openly; he really missed his home country. He also felt strange to not be able to see his parents on his birthday …or any of his relatives for that matter.

However, he had to face this fact maturely; it wasn't like he could do anything about it anyway.

Ivan was truly relieved to hear the words "summer holidays"…he was about to really re-think of his plan about stopping all the planes to China again. It exactly reminded him of the day he discovered Yao's job at the café. He had the same fear and he remembered that Yao spoke to him the same way that he is doing at this moment; with a nostalgic and a slightly sad voice. It must be hard for him to not being able to see his caring family...

"Are you sad about this Yao?"

"What?! No!" The Chinese answered rapidly. He was lying of course, but he thought that it didn't matter… it didn't bother him if Ivan would realise it or not. "Sad or not; there is nothing that I can do aru. There are much more important things than a simple birthday aru! A birthday is like any other days. I don't care!"

However, Ivan assumed that if Yao was speaking like that, it probably mean that he _indeed_ cared about all of this.

"Yao, don't say that! It's your birthday da? It's _your_ special day! I think you should celebrate it nonetheless and have fun!" Ivan suggested with a smile.

"…It's not necessary; I won't have anyone to spend the day with. I would rather go to work and gain some money... My birthday wouldn't be the same without them anyway."

"…" Ivan wanted so much to interrupt Yao and suggest him to spend his birthday together. But by looking at the other, he knew that there was still something that his crush didn't say yet; so the blond decided to wait quietly.

"Since I was a child, I always celebrated my birthday with them. Nothing can replace this fact aru. It's just a fond memory…" Yao added.

"Yao…Do you wish sometimes that you could have the possibility to spend the days like when you were a child again, da?" Ivan inquired.

"Maybe…"

"Sometimes I also think it would be great to be a child again. And relive memories that you now realise were nice…" Ivan commented with a small smile. When he remembered those great memories, he always wondered how come he never realised back at the time how much they were amusing and precious.

"I feel like that too sometimes aru." Yao said with a soft smile.

"I particularly remember mornings when I was in bed and my mother tried to wake me up saying that breakfast is ready…" The Russian chuckled, remembering that specific moment of his childhood. He felt that even then when there were no responsibilities, it wasn't easy to wake up.

"…And you don't feel like getting up aru…" Yao added, thinking the exact same thing that Ivan had in mind.

"Exactly! And you still decide to stay in bed, until your mother finally comes and scolds you for being lazy da?" Ivan also added cheerfully.

Yao gave a small laugh; he could perfectly remember a very similar childhood moment that the one they were talking about. In fact, he could almost hear his mother reproach him to be lazy too.

"…I think everyone had a similar moment from their childhood like that…"Ivan stated, seeing Yao with another nostalgic expression.

"Yes…" The Chinese sighed.

Now that Yao thought of it, things have changed so much since then…now they have grown up and he rarely could afford to stay in bed for much time during the morning; he had more responsibilities…yet he still couldn't help to wish that he could revive similar moments once more. They were precious memories to him…and he felt like Ivan might feel the same way about his memories too…

"Ivan, I am not going to lie. I really wish I could be back home aru…"Yao finally admitted silently.

Realising that this last sentence sounded depressing, Ivan was quickly thinking about what he could say to cheer the other, but before he could think of anything Yao rapidly continued.

"…But you can't have everything you wish for in life aru. So I will wait until the summer holidays arrive and I will visit my family then." Yao concluded wisely. For him, it was clear; there was nothing else to do but to accept the reality. After all, there would be nothing good that would come from dwelling on it.

"But Yao, for the time being, you can take the day off at your job and maybe spend your birthday with me da?" Ivan suddenly chimed, thinking that it was a great time to suggest his idea.

"What?! You and I?!" Yao shouted, shocked to hear that suggestion.

"Yes, we could spend your birthday together. It would be so much more fun than working or be alone da?" Ivan proposed.

"Aiyaa!" The Chinese expressed, blushing a little at the mention of this sudden idea.

"What do you think?" Ivan inquired once more; excited to think about all the different things that they could do to celebrate Yao's birthday.

"I don't think it's a good idea aru..." The other answered looking away. He felt that if it was like yesterday, when they spent time together alone, things might probably end up in a rather _ambiguous_ situation again.

"Aww~ Why?" Ivan asked with a pout.

"Because."

"Because of what?"

"Simply because aru!"The Chinese gave his final answer with a very stern tone.

"Aww…Yao…." The other whined, giving a sad, yet very cute look at him.

"Aiyaa! I think we are getting distracted aru! You came here to study, remember?" The Chinese stated, pointing at the schoolbooks, in front of them, that were still closed on the table.

Ivan looked back at the books, abruptly he felt way less cheerful than how he was a few seconds ago….however, he realised that what Yao said was true…they were _supposed_ to study…

"So let's start aru!"

"Okay! But you have to promise me to think about my suggestion da?"

"Sure…"The Chinese sighed. He was certain that if he wouldn't say yes, the other wouldn't stop asking and being distracted.

Finally, Yao and Ivan took their homework and opened the schoolbooks. The blond was actually glad that Yao also brought his math notebook to share with him; it was great since he forgot to bring his… and even if he would have brought it, his notes were not really reliable because he didn't truly pay attention during his math class….

However to his surprise, as he was about to take Yao's math notebook to look at the recent notes, the Chinese brusquely took it before Ivan could even touch it. In fact, Ivan was really shocked to see the other acting in such an abrupt way. Usually, Yao wouldn't act that way…

But, as soon as Ivan looked at him, the other looked away embarrassed about his recent rude action.

"I-I am sorry about that aru…I just wanted to see something…"Yao tried to explain. To be honest, the last thing he wanted was Ivan to look inside his notebook. Since the last time he had studied, Yao still haven't erased that slightly cute-looking doodle of Ivan that he drew. Though presently, he was seriously cursing himself to not have erased it. If Ivan would find out about this doodle, he would be dying of embarrassment!

Why?! Oh, why, didn't he erase it last time?!

"Ha it's fine…" Ivan said nonchalantly. Honestly, he was still shocked about the other's recent action, but he thought that perhaps Yao simply wasn't someone who was fine with others touching his belongings…it would also kind of explain the situation of this morning too, now that he thought about it…

"So what you don't understand about mathematics aru?" Yao started, hoping to keep the focus on the study.

"Err…about everything…"Ivan admitted. Somehow, he felt like he couldn't remember anything from his math class.

"Everything?!" The Chinese repeated in shock. Nonetheless, Ivan seemed to be quite serious about it.

"I guess we can start with solving the mathematic problems from our homework aru." Yao remarked with a small sigh. He took his math homework and started to explain the first problem to Ivan. "You see, you can always multiply the fraction when it's like this…"

Yao described the rest of the strategy, showing every step to solve the problem; unfortunately, even if Ivan was looking at what Yao was doing, he definitely wasn't listening. The blond wasn't in the mood to study or learn anymore; at this moment, what he wanted was to continue talking with Yao. The only think he could think about was Yao's upcoming birthday and how they could celebrate it, and wonder what kind of gifts Yao would like to receive.

"So now that I showed you this, do you want to try it by yourself with the next problem aru?" Yao questioned, automatically snapping Ivan out of his thoughts.

"…what?" The other asked in complete and honest confusion.

"AIYAA! Where you even listening to my explanation?!" The Chinese yelled, angry to see that Ivan was daydreaming instead of paying attention to what he was teaching.

"Yes, of course I was." He answered with an uneasy smile.

"So try to solve the next problem then." Yao said, unbelieving the other.

"I don't feel like it…"Ivan plainly replied.

"Do you want to pass your exam or not aru?" Yao asked, seeing that the Russian really seemed to not take the revision seriously.

"Aww ok…"He complained with a childish tone. Even if Ivan conceded it, he still felt pretty unmotivated to do or think about anything related to mathematics sadly…

"You are such a child aru…"Yao commented, seeing Ivan pouting like a kid.

He stood there and watched the Russian start the problem. Only looking at him for a few seconds, Yao knew that the other didn't listen to his recent explanation …and also that Ivan truly didn't seem to care about it.

Yao simply couldn't understand how Ivan could be so carefree concerning his schoolwork like that. The exams would be there very soon, he couldn't afford to ignore his studies; what was Ivan thinking? The Russian's attitude certainly reminded him of a child's…and if Yao had to take care of Ivan like if he was a child so that he would learn, then he would definitely do it…

"I might offer you a reward if you solve the problems correctly aru."Yao stated. Just like he thought, the other looked at him with an interested expression. In merely a second, the boring expression Ivan had completely disappeared.

"A reward?! What will you offer?" Ivan asked, slightly shocked.

"Whatever you have in mind I guess aru…"Yao announced…but he stopped talking when he saw Ivan with a pervert smirk on his face. He wasn't sure why he was surprised to see that; in fact, he should have known that something perverted would be the first thing that might come to Ivan's mind…

"Let me guess you want something like a kiss aru?"Yao asked with a frown, deciding to not acknowledge the possibility of more pervert ideas that might have come up in Ivan's mind.

Ivan didn't reply; he simply chuckled a little, but by the way he was slightly blushing and smiling, Yao didn't need an answer. He knew that this was exactly what Ivan was thinking about.

"It's a kiss isn't it?" Yao asked again, this time with a more strict tone. "I can't believe you are so desperate for that aru. Aren't you ashamed?" Yao muttered, thinking that his "reward plan" wasn't a great idea now.

"Desperate? I'm not desperate da! I am just a little impatient." Ivan replied, unhappy to see Yao looking at him with a dark glare.

"Impatient? You are only a pervert aru!"

"What?! No, it's not like that!" Ivan defended himself. By hearing Yao's expression, he knew that the Chinese didn't believe him. Yao wasn't even looking at him anymore!

"Yao, I want to share such moments with you because I really like you da?" Ivan said quietly. This time, he was the one who looked away. "The simple thought of spending time with you makes me happy Yao." He confessed with a soft smile.

"What!?" Yao expressed uncertain of what Ivan exactly meant by that.

"Yao, I _really_ like you since the first time I saw you da? And the more time we spent together, the more I am eager to be closer to you... I am not doing it because I am desperate, I'm doing it because I-I…"

He didn't know how to finish his sentence…deep inside, he wanted to reveal his true feelings; that he loved him…but at the same time, a part of him was scared of the possibility that Yao wouldn't accept it. What if this revelation would ruin the present relation he had with Yao? Unsure of what decision to take, he ended up not completing his last sentence.

Though, he was still wondering what might be Yao's reaction. Ivan finally looked over at the Chinese to see that presently this one was looking at him again. This time however, his face was vivid red and he seemed completely bewildered.

"Y-y-you really like me?" Yao repeated.

"Da…you didn't know?" Ivan inquired, unsure of what to think of Yao's last question.

Seriously? Yao didn't know that he had a crush on him? Didn't he ever wonder the reason why he always was following him and asking for a date?! Ivan must admit that his interest for Yao have been stronger than a simple crush for quite some time; he was certain that Yao would have at least guessed it by now… many people from school had realised this…so how come Yao didn't?!

"I-I-I just…"Yao mumbled, deciding to look away.

Yao could feel his heart beat so fast and he felt so strange upon hearing this revelation. He wasn't exactly sure of what it meant or how he should react…

It was true that Ivan always took every opportunity to be with him…but for some reason he didn't knew it was because he liked him like _this_…for some reason, it never came to his mind that this was the reason. But right now, he couldn't understand how he was so oblivious to it. _Now_ it seemed _so_ evident….

"Yao…"Ivan murmured, seeing that the other seemed tense.

Slowly, Ivan gently grabbed Yao's small hand…

It was making Ivan anxious to think about what Yao might say. Yao's reaction seemed so uneasy; he wondered if it meant that he would reject him?

"I-Ivan…" Yao said quietly, after noticing Ivan's hand.

Though, to Ivan's agony, Yao slowly took his hand away…

"I-Ivan, I am sorry but I am not like you aru…I can't easily show my emotions and be affectionate like you…"The other noted, still blushing.

The Russian completely wondered what in the world was that supposed to mean?! At first, Ivan thought this was Yao's way to say that he didn't feel the same for him. He felt heartbroken just thinking about that for a fraction of second.

Fortunately, despite the fact that Yao wasn't looking at him, Ivan soon felt a smaller hand softly holding his' and playing with him…

Was this Yao's way to say that he liked him? Or that he accepted his feelings and was returning them? Or was Ivan only thinking that because he really hoped for it?!

After a small moment of silence, the blond still wasn't sure of this meaning, but he knew that it didn't mean that he was rejected in the end…and for now, it was entirely nice to know that.

"It's okay Yao…I understand that…"

At this moment, he thought that direct and clear words weren't necessary; the simple fact that Yao accept him and cared about him like he was doing presently was enough to soothe his heart. "It doesn't matter da… I-I won't force you to kiss me if you don't want to."

"What?" Yao questioned, once again shocked to suddenly hear that from Ivan.

"I understand that you don't feel at ease with that…it explains why you only kissed me on the cheek last time, when I walked you home…" Ivan remarked.

Yao just stood bewildered at this answer…actually, last time; he _did_ try to kiss him on the mouth that night…but…

"…W-well thanks for understanding that aru." The Chinese replied looking away, a little flustered by the discussion.

"I'm sorry about this morning Yao. I didn't want our first kiss to be like this…" Ivan admitted shyly.

"Our first kiss?!"

Why was Ivan talking like they were officially a couple?

"I can wait until you stop being prudish and shy. I am not desperate; I can wait for Yao as long as Yao wants and is ready." He chimed with a lighthearted tone. He thought that this was a good way to end up the discussion…however; Yao didn't think the same way. On the other hand, Yao wasn't happy with what he just heard…

_Prudish and shy?! _

He _wasn't_ prudish and shy! Why everyone said that? And for some reason, the fact that Ivan mentioned that so carelessly was making him _very_ frustrated. These last words had left a bitter taste in his mouth. If he was really prudish and shy, he wouldn't have let Ivan sleep in the same bed than him with no pants…Simply because he wasn't easily capable to express his feelings openly, didn't mean he was prudish.

"Do you still want your reward aru?" The Chinese inquired with a slight bitter tone.

"Of course." Ivan said, wondering what will be his reward in the end.

The Chinese looked at the purple eyes. For a second, Yao wondered what exactly he was thinking about. He was still frustrated about the recent words, but his heart was also filled with some other strange desire. No matter what though, he thought that Ivan shouldn't be thinking of him as someone prudish…

To Ivan's surprise; Yao came very close to him and kissed him in the mouth. At first, the blond almost thought that he was hallucinating when he felt Yao's lips on his'. Though, as soon as he realised that it was reality, he kissed him back with pleasure. Unfortunately, he felt that Yao stopped the kiss at the exact time that he was only starting to savour it.

There was a small silence as both of them looked at each other blushing.

"H-here you had what you wanted aru! Will you focus on the problem now?" The Chinese asked, finally looking away and taking his notebook. He had a weird mix of contentment and embarrassment boiling inside of him. In some way, he felt ashamed about his recent action, but he also had a contradictive feeling; one that secretly acknowledged that he was happy to have been able to kiss Ivan…

"Waw…"Ivan expressed, completely dazed by this last kiss. He thought that this one was almost better than the one from this morning. In the end, Yao was indeed a good kisser…

The Chinese looked over at the other to see Ivan with a dreamy expression…apparently, he couldn't have been more wrong about hoping Ivan would be focusing on the problem; presently the blond was obviously not listening at all.

"I-Ivan, are you listening aru?"The Chinese complained.

"Thanks Yao!" Was the only thing Ivan said. The Russian was about to come closer for another kiss, but Yao rapidly backed away.

"Hey! Ivan, calm yourself aru!"

"I understand that you don't feel at ease, but can I have another one?" Ivan asked gently, snuggling closer to Yao.

"N-no!"

"But I respected your decision before da?" He said with a childish tone.

Yao gave him a small glare upon hearing that; he might have respected his decision, but he also insulted him somehow.

"Another one da?" The blond asked again, giving the Asian very cute puppy-eyes.

In the end, it seemed like Ivan completely forgot about studying…

"I-Ivan, you came here to study, remember?" Yao reminded him, trying to speak with a severe tone.

Slowly, Ivan looked back at the books and homework that were on the table…

Oh yeah…those _things_…he _definitely_ wasn't in the mood for studying now….

"Stop acting like a child and solve the problems aru. We have yet to be finished with that." Yao scolded him.

"Okay…" Ivan agreed, feeling unmotivated to continue once more.

He took the homework with the math problems that he didn't complete yet and tried to focus on it, acting in such a depressing way.

"I-if you complete everything correctly. You'll get another kiss aru…" Yao murmured very silently; he almost was hoping that Ivan didn't hear him.

However, once again, it seemed like Ivan had a good ear since he showed a giant smile after hearing that. He continued to solve the math problems with way more motivation at least…but Yao didn't felt very well seeing that...

_What kind of teacher am I aru? _He Chinese questioned, feeling ashamed of the method he was using to teach Ivan. He really hoped that the other would at least learn something from it.

"I finished, look its completed da?" Ivan expressed enthusiastically, once he finished solving all the problems.

"Okay, let's see." Yao said taking the sheet and looking at what Ivan did.

"Is it okay?" Ivan inquired.

"Everything is okay except the last two aru."

_Damn it, no kiss! _Was honestly the only thing Ivan thought once he heard that.

"You see, you have to divide it first in a situation like this aru. Like that." Yao showed the other his mistake by writing the correct steps that lead to the answer.

"H-ha, I see…"Ivan mentioned; it really made more sense when Yao explained to him his mistakes.

"Did you understand your mistake aru?" Yao inquired.

"Yes."

"Great…well, you did do the others correctly aru…"Yao added, looking once again at the other numbers.

"Hmm?" Ivan wondered what that meant.

As he looked at the other, though, he happily realised that Yao seemed to be willing to give him a reward nonetheless. The Chinese was approaching him slowly until Ivan could feel his lips against the Yao's again.

This time, Ivan didn't lose a second to savour the kiss. He quickly wrapped his hands around Yao's body, but yet being careful, so that the other wouldn't feel uncomfortable and decide to stop. After being sure that his crush seemed to be okay, Ivan tried to penetrate his tongue inside Yao's mouth. This time, the kiss lasted longer and the passion increased hastily between the two. Ivan definitely didn't want this one to end up so rapidly….

Their kiss grown to be more and more serious, until Yao fell on his back; leaving them to be in a rather ambiguous position.

"A-aiyaa! I-it's enough! Stop now!" Yao ordered, stopping the kiss. He didn't want to admit, but he was honestly out of breath by this last kiss.

"Did I go too fast? I can calm a little da? I promise." Ivan hastily said, sad to see that Yao wanted it to end so fast.

"W-we should continue with the homework…"Yao announced, still trying to regain his breath back.

"Just a little more?" Ivan asked, coming closer to him.

"N-No! Focus or we will never finish the study aru!"

In all honesty though, Ivan didn't care about the study anymore. It was the least of his concerns. The taller one still came closer to Yao who was lying on the floor, but instead of kissing, he simply cuddled him, resting his face down on the other's neck.

In this position, Yao could only bring his hands around Ivan's body as if he was giving him a hug. He felt that the other was so warm…it was so unusual, since Ivan always seemed to be so cold, not that Yao was complaining. Despite their rather suggestive position, Yao felt really comfortable like that, under Ivan's warm body, so close to him…it was completely calm and he could feel a heartbeat…however it wasn't sure if it was his' or Ivan's.

"Can I still kiss you da?"Ivan murmured silently, hoping to not ruin this nice moment. He removed his head from Yao's neck and looked at the other right into his ember eyes. If Yao couldn't express his feelings openly, it didn't matter…because Ivan wanted to express his' and show how much he loved his little sunflower.

"A-aiyaa, Ivan." The Chinese complained with embarrassment. There were already a lot of things that happened until now that probably shouldn't have happened and he thought that there truly shouldn't be other things happening...

"Please?"

This time Yao looked at Ivan in the eyes; there was something about that "please" that made him lose it…how could he say no? Even though some part of his mind was telling him that he shouldn't accept it so easily...

"Ivan…"Yao quietly moaned, before kissing Ivan again.

Maybe, he was doing something wrong, but for some reason, for the moment, he actually didn't care.

As they were lying on the floor kissing, this time Yao was the one who forced his tongue inside Ivan's mouth and the other was quite satisfied with that. Though soon Ivan took control and by the small noise of pleasure that Yao gave, he was certain that both of them were enjoying this moment.

As he wished, their moment lasted longer this time, Yao accepting every kiss, one after another…and Ivan wanted it to never end…he was pleased and he wanted to please Yao too…

"I-Ivan…"Yao called while trying to suppress his moan. He wanted to say something…but with everything that was happening, he couldn't clear his mind well and say it…

"ANIKI?!" A huge scream was heard, making both of them jump of surprise.

What was Yao trying to say just now? Probably no one will ever know as even Yao automatically forgot once he saw his cousin Yong looking at them with a bewildered face and his mouth completely open. Honestly, Yao _totally_ forgot that someone else was in the apartment. Why did Yong have to wake up at this exact moment?

Yao tried to move away from the current position he was with Ivan; however, he simply had to admit that there was no explanation that would deny what they were doing…

"Aniki? W-what…the hell?" The Korean said, not believing what he was seeing. "What is going on?! What is he doing here?!..."

"Nothing… I-I am just teaching him mathematics aru!" Yao tried to explain rapidly before things would turn drastically.

"With your tongue?!"Yong inquired, shocked to hear that answer.

"AIYA! What?!" It didn't really take long for Yao's face to be completely red. In the end, no matter what he would say it wouldn't hide what Ivan and he were doing…he could already feel it, now that Yong knew it, he would tell _everyone_ about it. _Everyone!_

He felt suddenly like there would be a lot of rumours at school concerning his personal life during the upcoming days…

"Is he forcing you to do that?!" The Korean abruptly asked, giving a glare at Ivan who was still pretty close to his Chinese cousin.

"Yong! Stop it! He isn't forcing me to do anything aru!"The older Asian quickly replied blushing as he realised that his answer confirmed that he was okay with what was going on….

"What? You are defending him? …So he is your boyfriend?" Yong asked a second time.

"W-what?!"

Ivan looked at Yao…a lot of things have happened between them in the last couple of minutes, but he still wasn't sure of what it meant for their relationship. Were they a couple at last? Ivan hoped so much that Yao would say yes!

"Is that why you have those doodles of him in your notebook? And that must be why you never wanted us to talk bad about him da-ze! Aniki, why didn't you tell us that sooner?!"

"Aiya! How do you know about those doodles aru?!"The Chinese snapped.

"Really? Yao-Yao has doodles of me in his notebook da?" Ivan asked cheerfully. Not to forget that Yao apparently was also defending him? He was surely happy to hear all that.

"I can't believe this da-zee. Why did you choose him Aniki?" He said, glaring once more at the Russian. "Since when you have this relationship with my cousin?! Did you sleep with him?! Is Aniki a good kisser da-ze?!"

"AIYAA?! WHAT?" Yao snapped. Why was Yong asking those sudden specific questions?!

"Da, he is a _really_ good kisser." Ivan chimed with a blissful expression.

"Aiya! I'm sorry, but Ivan has to go now aru!" Yao declared, taking Ivan by the arm and somehow forcing him out of the apartment.

"Wait I have a lot of other questions too!" Yong screamed. Though, he was unfortunately ignored by his cousin who rapidly ran outside of the apartment with Ivan and closed the door.

* * *

><p>After this small awkward moment, both of them were standing in the hall in front of Yao's door. There was a silence and none of them were sure of what to say…<p>

"I-I'm sorry for my cousin aru…"Yao started by breaking the silence. He was still pretty humiliated by some of the revelations that happened recently. Nonetheless, he was sure to have a _long_ talk with Yong once he would go back home.

"Ha, it's okay Yao..." The Russian reassured him.

"It was a truly great date. Thank you, Yao." He added in a rather quiet voice; thinking about all the things that happened today with Yao.

"Aiyaa! This wasn't a date aru!"Yao replied, slightly embarrassed by this remark. "One of these days…I will show you what a real date is aru." The Chinese announced with an affirmative tone.

Ivan seriously couldn't believe what Yao was telling him. He was promising him a real date? "I really can't wait for it!" He chimed eager to know more about it. However, instead of talking more about the date, Yao drifted into another subject.

"S-so I think we have to end the studying for today aru…"The Chinese noted, looking away embarrassed by the recent turn of events.

"It matters little." Ivan replied, studying was completely the last thing on his mind now.

"Aiya, don't forget that we have our exams soon aru! Next time we meet, we have to study everything!" Yao said with a stern tone.

Of course, Ivan could simply nod. He was actually relieved to hear that Yao still wanted to study with him again. Perhaps, he thought that their next study could turn to be great like the one they have today…or better? With keeping this in mind, he tried to hide his small smirk.

"I will be going da? Thanks for everything…"Ivan said. He definitely wanted to stay with Yao more. He hoped that the other would propose them to go somewhere else for now…but it seemed like Yao had no such intentions. "B-before going …can I have a hug?" He finally demanded.

The Chinese looked at the blond for some moment, thinking about this last request…

"…Yes…"Yao answered, bringing a cheerful smile to the other. Once again to his surprise though, Ivan didn't only receive a hug, but was also lucky to have one last soft kiss from Yao…

"See you Monday Ivan aru." Yao said one last time after their kiss, giving him a slight seductive smile.

Ivan was left speechless, but managed to wave goodbye to Yao before the Chinese headed back into his apartment.

In the end, this day with Yao turned to be very well indeed…

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><p><em><strong>I hope you guys liked this chapter and I hope the Rochu interaction ended up turning great lol I really wasn't sure about that x,DD However, I had fun writing it and I hope you guys also had fun reading it too Q7Q. I can't say for sure when will be the next update, but I promise that it won't take as much time as it took for this one though OTL It was really a long time and I felt bad TUT <strong>_


	25. Chapter 25

_**Hey guys! Once again I am terribly sorry for the long time I took to update. I didn't give up on my fics, in fact, I can assure you that I will **__**not**__** give up. Even if I take a long time to do things, I will finish them eventually. There were a lot of reasons why I took a long time to update this fic, One of them is that I wanted to finish another fic before the end of the year 2013 (Yao's special gift ). The other one was that I was just incredibly busy with life; I had a lot of things to do during my last semester (it was hell!) and I also got really sick in the past months. Anyway, I am grateful for all your patience qwq I promise I will do my best to update my fics more often QuQ**_

_**Once again, thanks everyone for your nice encouragements! They all make me so happy to read and it always brings a smile on my face QwQ and again, I hope you will like this chapter uwu**_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 25<strong>_

A lot of things happened ever since the first day Ivan had discovered the café that Yao worked at.

And little by little, ever since that day, Yao felt closer and closer to the other…and in some way, all these emotions were like a roller coaster. As a moment could be calm and serene, another could rapidly turn to be passionate and tense. Every time they would be together, Yao felt different emotions. However, the emotions he felt today were really extreme…

He seriously didn't know what to think of this seemingly long day…Only this morning he was frustrated and completely angry at Ivan because they kissed. But in a few hours, during the afternoon, he suddenly didn't mind all that had happened?

He couldn't even understand his change of thoughts. How in the world, the fact that Ivan was on top of him and kissed him, didn't seem to bother him now? But when he recalled Ivan and how adorable the Russian acted when he declared his feelings; all the anger and frustration he felt quickly would turn into fluster and warmth…

There were a lot for Yao to think about, to decide and to consider before his next meeting with the Russian. He also had to face thoughts that couldn't be ignored anymore; but for now there was one thing he _definitely_ had to face before anything else….his cousin Yong!

When he came back to his apartment, after saying goodbye to Ivan, he found Yong listening to the door… it seemed like his young cousin was trying to eavesdrop on his conversation with Ivan ….

The first thing Yao did when he came back home was to glare at his cousin. He definitely felt like he needed to have a serious discussion with Yong right now!

"Aniki! Things are serious between you and the creepy Russian da-ze! Why didn't you tell us? We are your family! We should know! Why are you keeping secrets?!"

"Aiya! D-don't accuse me like that aru! Calm down! This doesn't concern you anyway." Yao said trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"Of course it does! It explains _**so**_ much about your recent comportments Aniki!"Yong continued with his agitated behaviour.

"W-what is explained aru?!"The Chinese inquired, puzzled by this statement, but also afraid of what the Korean might say.

"So much! It explains why you always wanted to stay in your room. Why you seemed anxious when that Russian guy was around. And your stomach aches. Also, why you always were complaining because I would never clean the table after eating or because I left snacks everywhere in the room and never clean them. All this time, you were simply in love~" Yong announced with a mischievous grin.

Regardless of all these strange reasons that didn't really explain anything, Yao only acknowledge one thing…and it was the exact thing he was afraid that Yong would say…

"N-No! I am not!" Yao replied with his face completely flushed.

"Aniki is in love with the Russian guy! Aniki is in love with the Russian guy!" Yong chimed childishly.

"I am not in love with…"Yao started his sentence affirmatively, but didn't end up finishing it as he wanted. His mind thought of Ivan and suddenly he wasn't capable to say the last word.

"I am not in love aru..." He repeated, but this time much less affirmatively and with a rather hesitant tone.

"What? You are not in love?! Aniki, come on, don't lie! I saw you two kissing on the floor da-ze!" The other said firmly unbelieving him.

Why was Yong saying these embarrassing things?! Was he pointing out this particular scene on purpose just to embarrass him?!

"Aiya! Stop Yong!" Yao snapped harshly, scaring his cousin a little. "Don't tell anyone about it! You have to keep everything you saw a secret aru!"

Yao decided to not deny it anymore. As embarrassing as it might be, whatever happened today with Ivan did happen; it couldn't be changed anymore. However, he wanted to have some time to think about all this and talk with Ivan before everyone would meddle childishly into their situation just like Yong was doing now. If he wouldn't talk with Ivan first, he felt that things could get truly confusing and awkward between them.

"I can't tell anyone about it?! Not even Kiku? Why?!"Yong asked, still a little afraid of the fact that Yao seemed angry.

"Not even Kiku! _**No one**_ aru!" Yao affirmed.

"But Kiku is part of our family Aniki! And family should know! _Everyone_ should know."

At this instant, Yao felt a sudden wave of agony and worry invading him.

Why on earth did Yong have to come and witness Ivan and him kissing?! Now all he could think about was Yong calling everyone—particularly his family—to tell all these news. And this was the last thing he wanted to happen!

At the exact moment that he was thinking about this horrible scenario, the phone started to rang right on cue, making Yao even more anxious.

"_**NO**_! No one should know!"He yelled, preventing Yong from answering the phone.

"What…but—"

"NO ONE, YONG! _**NO ONE**_!" Yao declared.

Now Yong couldn't hide it anymore; he was _completely_ scared of his cousin's panicked behaviour.

"Aniki? Why are you so secretive?" Yong questioned.

"…" Yao simply looked at the other without saying a word. The older Asian thought that his cousin looked pretty anxious right now. Of course, it was because Yong was scared of his reaction, but unaware of this reason; Yao felt more worried about it.

"Yong, you will keep this a secret, right?" The Chinese asked again. Last time he asked _someone_ to keep a secret, that person didn't really do a good job. He had an eerie feeling that a similar situation could probably happen again…

"…"

"_Right_?" Yao repeated, pressuring his cousin who absolutely didn't knew what to say or how to react.

"…Aniki…"

"Promise aru!"

"Okay, okay Aniki…I promise to not tell anyone…not even Kiku." The Korean ended up saying, with a very anxious expression. He was still wondering why his cousin wanted to keep all that a secret. All this seemed suspicious. Why would someone want to keep being in love a secret?! Was there something shady that was happening, like in those TV-dramas? Damn it, how he wished he could talk to Kiku about all this!

"Good." Yao sighed, relieved.

The matter was settled and they could go back at passing their Saturday afternoon normally, forgetting about the recent events. Anyway, that's what Yao thought, but, of course, nothing of such happened.

While Yao decided to continue to clean the dishes, hoping that it would change his mind, on the other hand, Yong decided to sit at the table and to stare at his cousin with a perplexed and troubled expression. Yong was carefully thinking about many unsolved questions concerning his cousin. All the dramas that he saw on television were making him unsure of what he should do in this situation.

However, in Yao's opinion, being glanced like that by Yong quickly made him felt uncomfortable. In the end, no matter how much he wanted to pretend like nothing happened, things have ended being pretty awkward.

Thankfully, right at this moment, Kiku arrived home and Yao hoped that this would be an opportunity to completely change the awkwardness of the current atmosphere.

As Kiku entered his home, the Japanese only ended up being more than confused to see the situation. Yong was completely silent— a situation that was surely unusual—and he was still wearing his pyjama. Meanwhile, the fact that Yao was blankly cleaning the dishes made that scene really peculiar in Kiku's opinion...

"Hello Kiku!" Yao and Yong welcomed him at the same time, only making things seem even weirder.

"Hello…what is going on?" The Japanese asked.

"N-nothing is going on aru." Yao replied.

"Y-Yeah, nothing is going on da-zee." Yong confirmed.

"…"

In the end, Kiku couldn't help but to think that something was suspicious…_really_ suspicious…

"S-so how was your day Kiku? Was yesterday's storm awful at where your friend lived?" Yao inquired, hoping it would change the conversation.

"Not so much. The storm calmed down after a while, but of course Feliciano was still scared of the lightning and…"Kiku was about to continue to explain what happened, but then he noticed something _entirely_ strange in the living room.

"...why are there so many snacks on the living room table?" He asked baffled. Usually, Yao would always scold them about keeping the living room clean…all this added up another layer of oddness to the present situation.

"Aniki had a 'friend' over—"

Yong stopped talking as rapidly as he started when he noticed the Chinese glaring at him.

"What?"Kiku questioned, wondering more and more about what happened.

"Nothing. I just had a friend over aru." Yao answered, trying to sound nonchalant once again.

"Ha I see…"Kiku replied, still unsure of what to think.

"On my way here, I saw that Russian guy that is always around you." The Japanese continued as he decided to sit at the table, right next to Yong. "He looked so happy and was singing. It was…rather strange. I wonder what made his day…"

Yao's heart almost stopped once he heard that. He turned around to look at his cousins and see that Kiku was obviously confused by— not only the sudden stare Yao was giving him—but also Yong's.

What were the odds of Kiku talking about this? It was almost as if he knew! But since the Japanese had a puzzled expression, Yao was a little relieved to see that this must have been a coincidence.

"…Did I say something strange…?" Kiku inquired.

"No…but I think Aniki knows what made his day da-zee." Yong commented silently while looking at the Chinese with a small grin.

"A-aiyaa!" Yao snapped, blushing several shades of red.

He was now wondering how long this secret would be kept considering how Ivan was acting and the fact that Yong knew about it...

* * *

><p>It was already Monday. And sadly, the exams were about to start in a very few weeks. As the days would pass, it was obvious that students appeared to be more and more stressed about their exams.<p>

"Aww, exams are coming too fast! I don't want to study da-zee!"

Ever since this morning, Yong didn't stop complaining over and over about his upcoming exams. Although it started to become _really_ annoying, Yao thought that—at least— while he was complaining about his exams, he wasn't mentioning or questioning about the situation concerning Ivan…

"If you have so much to do, you should start to study now."Kiku suggested wisely. He didn't wanted to sound rude, but he had to admit that he was starting to also get pretty much annoyed by Yong's complains. He simply hoped that this one would listen to his suggestion.

"Aww, but I don't want to!" Yong kept on complaining childishly.

"When will you listen to me Yong?" The Japanese sighed tiredly.

Meanwhile, Yao only remained silent.

Ever since Saturday, the Chinese tried to avoid spending time with his cousins. He thought that the subject of his relation with Ivan will have more chances to stay a secret that way. Recently, a lot of things were on his mind, and as much as he disliked confessing it; most of the things on his mind were more about Ivan than about his studies…When studying; his mind was completely daydreaming of the Russian and thinking about what he should tell him.

But for once, the stress of exams was a good thing because his cousins were completely focused on their studies instead of on the way he was acting. If it weren't for that, Yao was sure that Yong would have said something already and Kiku would have questioned how strange he was acting sometimes.

"We are going to study at the library before Yong decides to avoid studying again."Kiku said, snapping Yao out of his thoughts.

"What?! You are not going to have lunch before that aru?" Yao rapidly asked, shocked to suddenly hear that. Usually, they would always have lunch together and eat before starting their homework.

"Lunch can wait for later. The priority for now is to study."

"Aiyaa! But it's not good for you to skip lunch aru. How will you focus on studying if you are hungry?" The Chinese complained. "You two should eat first and then study. Food will give you the energy to focus."

"If we do that, I think Yong will get distracted even more, that's why we are going now..."Kiku added, still deciding to follow his initial plan.

Of course, once again, no one was listening to Yao's wise suggestion…

"…So are you going to stay here?"Kiku asked, deciding to ignore his older cousin's dark glare.

"I am not skipping my lunch aru!"Yao simply commented.

"Okay…see you later then…"

"Bye Aniki…Wish me good luck da-zee!" Yong told him, before following Kiku.

"…"

…Well Yao was left all alone then…Not that he minded… much…

The Chinese thought that he could simply eat in the study room and use this opportunity to start studying there at the same time; that was a _way_ better plan!

After all, he knew that several exams were coming and he sincerely needed to focus on his studies. Ivan was still on his mind, but he needed to forget about him for now. He concluded that it would be better to focus on the exams and then, after it, he could focus on his situation with Ivan.

It was a logical and smart plan. Of course, for his plan to succeed, he had to avoid being with Ivan for a while…he rapidly felt bad about this thought; especially since he promised to help the blond Russian to study…

However, as he had this small dilemma in his mind, wondering to focus on Ivan or the exams first, he noticed the exact person he wanted to avoid! He saw Ivan sitting alone next to the lockers in the empty hall.

"Ivan? What are you doing here alone aru?" Yao hastily questioned, absolutely forgetting about what he was thinking about.

"Hello Yao-Yao!" Ivan said with a complete cheerful smile. "I am eating alone today da! I decided to stay away from my friends for a while."

Upon hearing that, Yao couldn't hide a troubled face. It felt so peculiar and sad to see Ivan sitting there all alone, he wondered if something happened between him and his friends…

"Did something bad happened aru?"

"Oh no…I just think it would be better if I ate alone…besides they are all worrying about their exams and studying…"Ivan replied.

This actually reminded Yao of the similar scenario with his cousins…

"So you are going to stay here alone?"

"I wanted to go to the study room, but it was too crowded. I think that everyone is doing their projects at the last minute da?" The blond explained.

…well it looked like Yao's recent "lunch and study" plan was ultimately ruined. If it was too crowded in the study room, he definitely didn't want to have lunch there…knowing his classmates, it was probably obnoxious and disastrous. However for now, he knew that this wasn't what was the most important.

"Don't you have siblings that you can have lunch with instead of being there alone aru?" Yao inquired Ivan once again.

The only sibling Ivan had at this school was Natalia…and he absolutely _**didn't**_ want to have lunch with her.

"NO!" Ivan automatically answered, at the same time shocking Yao with this serious and scary tone.

"Well…"Yao started. "…Do you want to eat lunch with me then aru?" The Asian proposed, avoiding looking directly at Ivan in the eyes. He disliked how he had a mixing feeling of anxiousness and excitement by only asking this simple question…

"Oh?"

"I also had intentions to study aru… but since you say it's crowded in the study room, I will probably eat outside." The Chinese explained with more assurance.

Outside was cold and Ivan really didn't like the cold. But if he would accept this proposition, he would be with Yao…and with Yao it was better and warmer than being alone…

"Yes~ I would absolutely want to!" Ivan replied with great enthusiasm.

Yao could only blush at the cute smile Ivan gave him. He rapidly remembered that a couple of minutes ago, before meeting up with Ivan, he was wondering if he should focus on his studies or Ivan first…Now, he didn't believe that avoiding Ivan is an option…

* * *

><p>When they arrived outside, Ivan could only feel a small, but cold wind, rapidly freezing him. The sky was full of clouds and the weather wasn't so great. It was probably for that reason that nobody else were outside. In some way, this gave the area a really tranquil atmosphere.<p>

Yao sat at a picnic table and Ivan quickly did the same, deciding to sit by his side.

"I think it's the first time I come to eat here da?" The Russian commented, still surprised about the fact that there weren't any soul around here.

Actually, it was the complete opposite from inside where many people were screaming and talking about exams. Outside, the weather was colder, but except from the sound of the wind passing through the tree's branches; there weren't any noise. It was completely tranquil.

"It's so quiet."

"Yes. That's why it's a great place to study aru." Yao added. Plus, it was the perfect place to relax and focus, in his opinion.

"…and to kiss." Ivan automatically added, without a second thought.

"What?!"The other questioned, wondering if he heard correctly.

"Nothing." The blond replied rapidly, with a small chuckle.

It was true that their relationship wasn't clear yet…

Were they dating or not? What did Yao thought of the feelings Ivan admitted yesterday?

All those questions only made Ivan realise that his current situation with Yao was completely confusing… Yao didn't say much about his feelings or about what happened yesterday. However, he promised to finally have a date with him, eventually. What did all this meant?

No matter the meaning though, Ivan still couldn't help but to want to spend more time with Yao and to think of him. He could daydream of a positive answer from him all the time. But for now, he could only hope that Yao would give an answer about his feelings soon.

Now that he thought about it more though, there were three options of answers that Yao could say to him. The first would be the positive one; Yao would accept his feelings, agree to be his boyfriend and kiss him. Of course, they would become an official couple and they would confirm that with kissing, all day.

The second option would be absolute worse; Yao didn't accept his feelings and didn't wanted them to be a couple…this situation was a catastrophe in Ivan's mind since it would mean that their relation would be awkward after that.

Lastly, the third option would simply be that Yao would prefer them to remain friends…

Wondering about all this was driving Ivan puzzled. If he considerate the fact that Yao seemed to avoid talking about their situation, the two last options seemed to be the most likely to happen… This later idea made him sad…

"Ivan, you don't want to eat aru?" The charming voice of Yao stopped the other's thought. His purple eyes looked at the Asian. He wanted to know Yao's answer so much right now that it made him feel anxious to the point of not being hungry.

"I don't want to eat right now…I feel nauseous." Ivan answered plainly, looking at his lunch made him feel even more uneasy.

"Aiyaa! Ivan, don't skip your lunch aru. Try to eat at least something or else you will feel even more nauseous."

The Russian simply replied with a faint sigh. If only Yao could know that the reason he felt anxious was because he was thinking about _them_ and their situation. He looked once more at Yao, hoping that by some chance this one would question his situation, but this time, he paid attention to the nice meal that the Asian had. The lunchbox of dumplings and rice seemed so good! Plus, the delicious smell of the meal made him forget about his nausea.

"Yao, are these dumplings? They seem so delicious da?" The Russian chimed. He remembered the delicious taste of the dumplings that Yao shared with him last time.

"Yes…"Yao mentioned slowly.

Compared to his meal, the dumplings seemed so perfect! Ivan wished he could have nice meals for lunch like Yao's.

"Do you want one aru?" Yao inquired, seeing that Ivan seemed fascinated by his lunch.

"Oh! Can I?!" Ivan asked with a big smile.

"Here."

With his chopsticks, Yao offered a dumpling to the Russian. To be honest, the Asian was certain that Ivan would take the chopsticks from his hands to eat. Though, instead the blond simply ate them automatically when Yao was still holding the chopsticks, giving the impression that he was feeding him...

"Hmm~" Ivan chimed happily. Not only the dumpling tasted so good, but the fact that he was fed by Yao gave him the impression that they were much more delicious. He wished that he could have all his meals that way!

Yao was still shocked about Ivan's action, but ultimately he didn't say a word, and only continued to eat the rest of his meal quietly.

After that moment, none of them talked and Ivan wondered if perhaps Yao wasn't content about his recent action. In the Russian's mind, they had done so much more sudden situations than what just happen, so he didn't understand why Yao was so silent. In fact, that silence felt so out of place –as if he wasn't supposed to be there—and it started to make Ivan a little nervous again.

It was exactly after Yao finished eating his last dumpling that the silence was broken; finally making the blond a little relieved.

"I-I am going to study for maths. Do you want to study too aru?"

Ivan nodded and approached closer to the Chinese. He needed to be close to Yao to read the mathematic problems on the notebook, but for him it was also the perfect opportunity to try to make a move on him. He could already feel that being close to Yao was much warmer.

"My cousin, Kiku, actually had the math exam a few days ago. I don't think our exam will be the same, but he gave me some hints on specific subjects that might be in our exam."

"That's great! I am sure it can help us." Ivan replied.

Yao went page by page, telling Ivan what his cousin noted that could be important for their exam. Ivan had to admit that he wasn't completely paying attention to what Yao was telling him. The Chinese was explaining way too fast, but he was certain to remember most (or some) of the notes he was talking about.

However, in Ivan's opinion, he had more important things to focus on right now!

Slowly the Russian moved his hand closer and closer to Yao's, until he finally decided to grab the smaller hand. Yao didn't move from an inch, he also didn't move his eyes from his notebook, but he certainly stopped talking.

The first thing Yao noticed was how cold Ivan's hand was. He knew that Ivan was sensitive to the cold, but it almost felt like his hand was absolutely icy.

"Ivan…are you cold aru?"Yao simply asked, still starring at his notes.

"No, it's fine da?" Ivan said. "…Yao-Yao is really warm." He pointed out, slowly laying his head on Yao's.

"I-Ivan…"Yao commented, hesitantly deciding to lay his head against Ivan's shoulders.

It was true that it felt warmer like this… with Ivan being close to Yao. The weather was still cold, but Yao felt at peace like that next to Ivan. He felt like it was perfect…

After a few seconds, Yao slowly moved his head away and looked at the other in the eyes. Gradually, he approached Ivan and pressed his lips against the other's. This kiss was a little short, but Ivan thought that despite that detail, this kiss was enough to warm him all up. He hardly felt the cold after that.

Both of them looked into each other's eyes; both of them felt their cheeks turning red, but also both of them were absolutely fine with that.

"Hum, s-so did you note everything I told you about the exam aru?" Yao asked, rapidly changing the subject.

"Yes…" Ivan's understanding of mathematics was better than what it was before, that's for sure. However, now what confused him was his relation with Yao. He felt that it was so strange that all these things would happen between them, but Yao still didn't bring up the subject of their current relationship. What did all that mean?

"It's with practice that you will remember maths. So try to practice every day until the exam aru."

"Thanks Yao."

There was another quiet moment between them, though this time the silence felt more comfortable.

Yao realised that this was a good time to talk about their relation…at first; he really wanted to keep this discussion after the exams, afraid that it would distract him. However, now he accepted that he definitely couldn't ignore the situation between them for that long! Besides, the situation was already distracting him; in fact it was even distracting both of _them_! It would probably be better if he would tell his feelings to the Russian as soon as possible.

"Y-You know Ivan…" Yao started his sentence but quickly he felt like he couldn't continue. A lot of things were on his mind, all of them concerned Ivan, but none of them could get out of his mouth in reasonable sentences.

He had to think of a way to say his answer; what did he thought of Ivan's declaration and what he wanted to do? Eventually he had to tell Ivan something...and fast! The other was looking at him with curious eyes, waiting for him to say something.

"… Maybe after school we can meet up again aru! I don't have to work today…"

"Yao, it's so kind of you to help me study da? I am sure that with your help, I will pass the exam greatly." Ivan chimed with a happy smile, content to have another opportunity to spend time with Yao.

The blond was certain that Yao was suggesting another time to study. Though, he was a little surprised to see that the Chinese was only replying to him with a blank stare and a small embarrassed expression.

"… a-actually, I thought we could do something else than study aru…like going somewhere…"Yao proposed with a blush.

"Oh! Like a date?!" Ivan automatically replied. And seeing, Yao's face even more red; he noticed that he guessed correctly.

"Yes! Of course I want to da!" He affirmed, feeling so enthusiastic! Yao was the one who brought the subject suddenly! Ivan hoped that it must mean something positive. "So where are we going, Yao?"

"What? I don't know aru! Weren't you the one who was planning for us to have a date last weekend? "Yao questioned.

"Hmm I see…" Ivan said with a smirk, satisfied that Yao trusted him to find a nice place for their date.

"W-what are you thinking about aru?"The other inquired feeling a little suspicious, as soon as he saw Ivan's smirk.

"Nothing! I am sure you will adore the place I have in mind da!" Ivan reassured with a smile, grabbing Yao's hand again.

The other simply gave back a nice smile. In the end, the Asian decided to trust Ivan...

As the lunch break was almost over, Yao started to prepare to leave and Ivan waited for him.

"I am very happy that we are going on a date Yao…" The blond added. He had to admit that ever since the Yao confirmed that they would have a _real_ date eventually, he could only be thinking about that! "I always feel happy when I am with you Yao…"Ivan added again.

"I know Ivan…" Yao replied, silently and gently. He knew what Ivan meant; he could remember Ivan's confession of Saturday very clearly…and he also wanted to tell him his answer about this. He thought that tonight, on their date, would be a good opportunity for that.

"…later, I will tell you something too aru…"

"What?" Ivan asked, confused by Yao's unclear answer.

"Don't worry, you'll understand later." Yao replied, deciding to keep hold of Ivan's hand as they walked back to school.

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><p><em><strong>I will try to work on the next chapter to update as soon as I can. Meanwhile, sometimes I post little previews of next chapters and talk about fic progression on my blog,( <strong>__** hikaru- chibi -world. blogspot. ca (wihout the spaces of course!))**__** so if I take a long time to update again, you can always cheek there from time to times QuQ **_

_**Thanks everyone!**_


	26. Chapter 26

_**Thanks everyone for your nice encouragements with the reviews, the faves and the follows. QuQ It really helps me. I am sorry if it took some time to update it once again. I have been pretty busy even in summer, so the encouragements were really the thing that made me find time to slowly work on it QuQ **_

_**The next chapters might be longer I think, so it might take some time as well. But slowly I will work on it 0u0 Hope you guys like it and I hope you guys are having a beautiful summer.**_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 26<strong>_

Before the beginning of classes, Ivan somehow convinced Yao to walk with him to his locker. They sadly weren't holding hands anymore, but they were talking about trivial things and Ivan thought it was something truly enjoyable.

"Yao-Yao is there something you would really like to have for your birthday?" Ivan asked the other.

"…No, I have nothing in mind aru…"

"Not even a single thing da?!"

How come Yao didn't thought of anything? Everyone always had at least one thing that they wished to have.

"Ivan…I don't want you to give me anything for my birthday aru."

"What? But that's what birthdays are all about da? Receiving great gifts!" Ivan replied.

Yao still haven't told him if accepted to spend his birthday together, but Ivan thought that he should still offer Yao a gift no matter what. He certainly wanted to give the Chinese the most wonderful gift! However, he didn't have a clue of what could this gift be.

"Aiyaa! It's kind of childish to think like that aru…"Yao noted.

At this moment, the Chinese couldn't help but to feel a pair of eyes on him. As he looked around, he didn't see anyone who was looking at him though. Perhaps it was only a suspicious feeling? But for some reason it still made him feel pretty uncomfortable…

"So we can meet after school here da?" The blond inquired, completely interrupting Yao's train of thoughts.

"Yes. We can meet here. In front of your locker after school aru…and please don't tell anyone about it…I don't want people to meddle in what doesn't concern them." Yao carefully murmured on the last part of the sentence.

"No problem˜" Ivan said while holding Yao's hand one last time before they would leave for classes. "I promise it will be fun Yao." Ivan assured.

The blond simply looked like a child who had the best day of his life. Yao couldn't remember seeing Ivan happy like that for such a simple thing…and the Chinese only found himself smiling at that scene. The longer he would spend time with Ivan, the more he was finding him adorable…Though, he somehow still felt bothered by the recent feeling of being observed…

While looking around, Yao finally noticed some guy at the other side of the hallway. That guy was looking at him in such a weird way and was having a strange smug smile.

Maybe it was only an impression, but Yao thought that the way this person was looking at him was really suspicious. Yao only glanced at him for a few seconds before turning his eyes away, though even afterwards, he still had the strange feeling that the other continued to look at him. The glance that he was receiving truly made him feel uncomfortable…

On the other hand, seeing that Yao seemed uneasy after glancing somewhere, Ivan automatically looked at the direction the other was looking, a few seconds ago. But in the end, he didn't understand what particularly made the Chinese seem so troubled.

"Something is wrong Yao?" Ivan asked, concerned by Yao's reaction.

"N-no, don't worry Ivan..." The other finally said, deciding to ignore the weird guy. "I will have to go back to class now, see you later aru."

"Bye Yao-Yao!"

The bell that announced the beginning of the classes chimed. Usually, Ivan would despise this sound because it meant that he had to return to class: the last place he wanted to be. Honestly, it was still the last place he wanted to be right now; but at least he didn't feel so much bothered by it. In fact, he never felt so indifferent by the idea of returning to class. In a matter of hours— once the afternoon classes would be over— he would be able to go with Yao on a date! A _real_ and _official_ date this time!

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><p>Yao had the chance to finish his class earlier today and, as promised, he waited in front of Ivan's locker. Except from a few of his classmates who were getting prepared to leave school, the hallway was almost empty and calm. It was an unusual scene to see.<p>

In a matter of a few minutes, everyone left and Yao was the only one in the hall. Not that it bothered him much; he knew that Ivan would arrive soon. He could hear other students speaking and figured out that he mustn't be the only one who finished his class earlier than usual.

As he waited, he wondered about many things…such as what he was going to say to Ivan today during their date and how he should give his answer. All these details still weren't clear in Yao's mind, but he hoped to find a solution eventually.

"Hey!"

"Iva—"Yao quickly started, thinking that it was Ivan who was there, although he stopped as rapidly. It was perhaps because he was daydreaming, but he could swear that the person who spoke was Ivan…however instead of a familiar Russian face, the weird guy who was looking at him earlier was there…

"…Hi…"Yao replied hesitantly and more than confused to see that guy talking to him.

"Are you waiting for someone?" The other boy asked.

"Actually…yes…"

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><p>Finally, the end of his classes arrived for Ivan and he couldn't be more excited and happy about it. Not losing a second, Ivan hurried in the halls, pushing- without any care in the world-the other students out of his way to be able to see Yao rapidly.<p>

Although, as soon as he arrived in the hallway where he was supposed to meet his date, he stopped rushing. For some reason, out of the many scenarios in his head, he didn't expect to see Yao there talking with some guy that he never saw…

In complete curiosity, he decided to wait around and listen to their conversation instead of going there. It might be a weird reaction from him, but he was extremely curious to know what this guy had to say to Yao. Besides he was also used to stalk the Chinese, so this wouldn't be any different from his usual activity. Ivan was far away enough for Yao to not notice him, but also close enough to be able to listen to their discussion.

"So you are not busy tonight right?"

It was the first thing Ivan could hear…and incredibly, he heard it very correctly!

"…" As he glanced toward Yao, he could see that he wasn't the only one who was baffled by this question, since the dark haired one seemed pretty annoyed as well.

"Do I know you aru?!" Yao inquired.

"I don't think you do." The guy replied with a mischievous smile.

"O-okay…"Yao murmured hesitantly once again. As he thought, that guy was truly suspicious. Therefore, the Asian thought it could be way easier if he would ignore him until Ivan would come.

"So are you available tonight?" The boy asked bluntly, seeing that the other seemed indifferent by his presence.

As if the boy knew, this completely shocked Yao who couldn't hide his sudden expression. Was that guy flirting with him?!

As Ivan was continuing to stalk, the blond had a very similar expression that the Chinese had. The Russian rapidly had mixed feelings about that… Sure, Yao was truly cute and beautiful. It wasn't the first time, he heard people complimenting Yao on his qualities and flirting with him. But the fact that this guy who he didn't knew was pointing it so directly—alongside a smug tone- was bothering Ivan so much!

"Aiya! I have plans aru." Yao answered, trying to remain unfazed by the other's comment.

"Aww, really?" The other continued.

The Chinese just sighed. It was as if that guy was doing on purpose to annoy him! And it was working perfectly! Though what was disturbing Yao was the fact that he never recalled seeing that guy before. Maybe he was simply a new student who wanted to get on his nerves…but for some reason, the boy appeared to be about the same age as him.

"What do you want aru?" The Chinese finally questioned, ultimately showing that he was irritated by the other's presence.

"I actually think you are cute…"The guy remarked.

And this comment was enough to make Yao blush…in the end, it was true that the guy was trying to flirt with him. Although, Yao never thought that the guy would suddenly say such a thing so boldly!

At the same time, Ivan cringed when he heard that sudden comment. It was true that Yao and Ivan weren't in an official relationship…_yet_…but they were still dating! And the Russian didn't want that guy to jeopardize their current relation in any way! How dare this guy make Yao blush so cutely?! He was completely jealous. The blond felt that only him had the privilege to make Yao blush in such an adorable way.

"Aiya! W-what?!" Yao finally commented, still trying to act indifferently. "Well…I am sorry aru. But I am not interested…"He added after a few seconds acting more confidently.

Ivan wasn't capable to completely see Yao's face, however, he felt entirely relieved to hear that reply. He felt like his jealousy went away and felt happier.

Of course, such an answer from Yao didn't make the strange guy happy though. The latter quickly frowned.

"Is there something that I can do to change your mind?" He inquired again, unsatisfied with the last answer.

"No. There really isn't aru." The Asian gave his final answer, before walking away.

He had been so distracted by this guy that he forgot about Ivan! At this hour, Ivan should already have arrived here! Not many other students seemed to be at school any longer. Since Ivan wasn't anywhere to be seen, the Asian definitely wouldn't stay waiting for him with _this_ weird person. Therefore, he thought he should search for Ivan on his own.

Unfortunately, before Yao could even walk two steps away, the guy told him something that made him froze in place.

"…Not even if I tell you that you are cute that maid dress you were at your job?" The guy added.

"Aiya! What?!"

"Yes, I know about your job…"The weird one announced with a condescending smirk.

"W-well good for you aru..." The Chinese replied, feeling slightly embarrassed and uncomfortable. This was exactly what he was trying to avoid! He knew that Ivan and his other friends knew about his secret. But none of them really bothered him outside of his job. However, if a complete stranger knew it…he had a bad feeling about it...

"It would be pretty awful if other people knew it right? Maybe you shouldn't ignore me after all" The other said.

Yao was completely baffled by that stranger. Was that guy threatening him?! What was his plan?

"Aiya! What do you want aru? I am not interested in going out with you!" Yao snapped, now deciding to not hide how much he was irritated by the other.

"Oh don't worry! We can do more things than going out if you know what I mean…"

"AIYAA! WHAT?!" Yao shouted.

On the other hand, there was half a second of pause on Ivan's mind; not expressing a single emotion.

The blond _knew_ exactly what the guy meant! And when he realised that, a sudden rage started boiling in his veins…was that guy really thinking on sleeping with Yao? How dare he insinuate such a thing?!

Yao quickly thought that the annoying guy deserved a punch in his face. Though, before he could even do something, he only saw Ivan rapidly come from nowhere and brutally push the guy against the lockers.

"IVAN?!" Yao shouted again, surprised to see the Russian.

Not long after he screamed, many students who were still at school circled around them to see what was happening. Though, all the people were starting to gossip, Ivan surely didn't care; he just wanted to punch that guy right in the face.

"What is wrong with you?!" The guy screamed, obviously angry.

"What is wrong with _you_?! Yao would never accept that!" Ivan declared with a very frustrated tone. The Russian didn't even realise how angry he was until now.

"IVAN!" Yao called, hoping that he could stop the scene in some way. He absolutely didn't want everyone to know what was happening.

"Why are you so sure about that? A night with me is better than having the entire school know that he is working as a maid in a café." The guy suddenly muttered with a smirk, making certain that only Ivan could hear that.

It didn't take long for Ivan to understand that the other was planning to threaten Yao somehow. Poor Yao, Ivan remembered that the last thing he wanted was for the school to know about his job…

"NO!" Ivan immediately yelled furiously, punching the guy in the stomach with all his force.

"IVAN ARU! STOP!"

"WOW!" Shocking expressions were heard from all the students that were looking at them, all more and more curious to understand what was happening.

"IT'S A FIGHT!"

"YAY!"

Suddenly, all the students near them were having their complete attention on the fight making the scene a more extreme event than what it was in reality.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"The guy asked, feeling the unstoppable pain in his stomach from the punch.

"You better stay quiet and leave Yao alone da?" Ivan replied to him bitterly, completely ignoring what was going on in the background.

"Who the hell you think you are?" The other retorted back at him.

"Kolkolkolkolkolkolkolkol" The Russian grabbed the other by the arm tightly. Ivan only wished he could have his metal pipe right now! He would have taught that idiot to _never_ mess up with Yao. Although, with the dark glare in his eyes and the heavy atmosphere he was giving; Ivan didn't need his metal pipe to be intimidating. The other guy was now really regretting starting this talk with Yao.

"O-okay, I won't bother him. L-leave me alone!" He stuttered, completely afraid.

"You better keep your promise!" Ivan muttered one last time.

"HEY! What is going on here?" An unfortunately familiar fierce voice screamed from the end of the hallway. The instant the blond heard the sound of this voice, he rapidly let go of the other.

Without even turning around, Ivan knew who it was; it was once again the principal. And once again, he wasn't surprised to see that the other seemed very angry.

"What are you doing again Ivan?!"He inquired giving him a glare.

"Ivan…" Teacher Vargas said in despair, quickly following the principal.

Of course, that scene made him look like he was the one who was bullying _again_. Especially since this time he went as far as punching someone…

"Look at that poor boy he looks miserable…" The teacher pointed out at the guy who was now crawled on the floor with a hand on his stomach.

"I-I can't feel my stomach…" The other complained, which only made Ivan glare at him even more.

"You are causing trouble again? Didn't you have enough detention?" The principal questioned with a harsh tone.

"…"

Ivan simply didn't say a word. He knew that this time this trouble would have repercussions in his school life. This time it will be more severe to the point of calling his father at the very least. Ivan was scared of what might happen, but at the same time, he didn't care about what kind of impact he would have to face. For once, he thought that whatever would happen, it would be worth it, because that guy really deserved to be punched.

"Wait! Ivan didn't do anything aru." Yao announced to defend Ivan. However, his sentence wasn't heard by the principal as this one was already pressuring Ivan to come with him.

"Come to the office young man."

"…"

After the intervention of the principal, everyone stood quiet for a second.

"Oh well the fight is over…."Someone pointed out nonchalantly.

Everyone scattered and went back to their usual things while gossiping…everyone, except for Yao…

"Ivan aru…" Yao murmured, seeing the Russian walking away with the teacher and the principal. He felt completely upset that he wasn't able to do anything about it. He didn't understood why, but when all these events were happening in front of his eyes , he didn't knew what to do…and now it was too late…How could things escalated so quickly?

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><p>The discussion with the principal was boring and tedious. Many people working in the head of the school thought it was a good idea to expel him. This idea made him unhappy; as he didn't want to leave the school where he could spend so much time with Yao.<p>

But at least, after a long conversation, Ivan ended up simply being suspended from school temporarily and obligated to attend a few detentions. The principal also did thought that it was necessary to call Ivan's father. Thankfully, his father was too busy and couldn't answer the calls.

The principal was always known to be strict and awful, but Ivan couldn't help but to think that the latter had pity of him in some way. In exchange for this last chance though, Ivan also somehow promised to have a good grade in at least 3 of his following exams. If he would pass, he would prove that he has determination and will to stay in this school.

This seemed quite problematic now that he thought about it. However, presently his mathematics teacher who was taking care of his detention was his current problem!

"Ivan, it's been countless of times that you ended up in detention in only a month." The arrogant voice of the mathematics teacher would resonate in the class. Ever since the detention started, the teacher didn't stop to patronize him.

"It's only been three times." The Russian answered back, looking at his teacher in the eyes with a frown.

There was a small silence between the two, but Ivan decided to not turn his eyes away.

"Three times is a lot Ivan…" The teacher grumbled with an arrogant tone.

Honestly, Ivan didn't think so…he was simply tired of everyone exaggerating and talking like he was the worst person ever.

"I can't believe the headmaster didn't decide to expel you _yet_. You almost send that poor boy to the hospital."

"He should have ended there." Ivan muttered bitterly. There were simply people who deserved to get punched; and that guy was definitely one of them!

Only thinking about what the weird guy said again was making him see red. How dare that guy say those things about Yao? If Ivan could, he would have punched that bastard once more! He actually hoped that this idiot would end up at the hospital! And he also really hoped that boy stopped to bother Yao…

Still, thoughts about the recent even made him feel furious, however, his anger completely disappeared once he saw Yao standing at the class's door.

"Yao?" Ivan said shocked to see the Chinese.

"Ivan…" Yao only whispered the name quietly, not knowing how to start. After the fight, he pondered about what he should do. In the end, he decided to wait for Ivan in front of the locker, even when he was all alone. However, after an hour, he wondered if Ivan was still at the meeting. And as he walked there, he heard the voice of Ivan leading him to this class…But now that he was facing Ivan again, he didn't know where to start…

"Yao, you are okay da?" Ivan asked relieved to see the other there.

"Yes…" Yao was about to say something, but he was abruptly cut by the teacher before he even said a word.

"Yao you are a good student, you shouldn't hang out with pathetic ones like Ivan..." The teacher commented with a chuckle, once he saw Yao.

At the mention of that, Ivan automatically looked down on the floor as if he was ashamed. On the other hand, Yao only found himself glaring at the teacher once he heard that.

"Sir, you are a teacher aru. You are there to help students, not to insult them and make them feel bad." Yao replied trying to keep a calm voice and to not sound arrogant.

At these words, Yao could see that the teacher felt completely shocked and embarrassed...and the Chinese student had to admit that this was secretly what he hoped to achieve. He didn't like showing disrespect like that to a teacher, but that person also didn't have the right to insult Ivan like that…

"I-I am sorry…" The teacher stuttered, feeling ashamed by what Yao remarked. "Please excuse me; I have to get some photocopies." He added while leaving the room and closing the door behind. For some reason, Yao knew that this man wouldn't be back soon. He was simply glad that he was able to get away with what he said while making sure that the teacher wouldn't ignore his words.

Yao rapidly looked at Ivan and saw that the other seemed to have a grateful expression in his beautiful purple eyes. Indeed, Ivan was really happy to see that Yao defended him; never would he think that Yao could stand up to say such things to a teacher, and even less _for_ him. But all this, made him like Yao even more.

"Yao, I am so glad to see you!" The blond quickly added.

"Ivan…what is that all about aru? Why did you act so suddenly like that and punch that guy aru?" Yao hastily inquired, somehow ignoring Ivan's last comment.

"What?! That guy was a bastard!" Ivan automatically stated. He didn't know how he should feel about the fact that Yao asked that question.

"You could be expelled for this kind of behaviour Ivan! Why did you even thought it was a good idea aru?"

"I don't care Yao! That guy deserved it! He was saying perverted stuff about you. He wanted to tell everyone that you worked in a maid coffee!"

"Aiya! Even though you shouldn't have punched him just for that!" Yao scolded. Sure, he wouldn't be happy if people would know about his job, but the fact that Ivan had to punch someone wasn't great either! He didn't know the details, but he was certain that this could lead Ivan to more trouble later on!

"Yao he was planning to sleep with you!" Ivan remarked bluntly.

"…" Yao's mind simply stopped to think once he heard that; he was planning on saying a lot of things about Ivan's actions, but presently, he didn't know what to say anymore…it was true that this particular comment did affect the Asian when he heard it as well…Now, he only hoped it could be forgotten forever…

"I am sure he would have done wrong stuff to you Yao! He was an asshole! He deserved more than a punch in the stomach da!" The Russian added more; feeling angry just thinking about it again.

Yao stood silent for a second…he felt completely strange hearing that…but also grateful that Ivan thought about him.

Though, in the end, no matter what, he still didn't thought that this was a good reason for Ivan to get into such trouble, especially when it could risk a big impact on the Ivan's school life.

"Aiyaa, Ivan! You didn't need to get into trouble because of that. You are so silly to act so angry aru! He probably was lying and simply said that to irritate me! Besides I am capable to defend myself aru!" He ended up saying, concluding that this was the mature thing to say.

"I couldn't stand someone saying that they wanted to sleep with you…and planning to go out with you that way…" Ivan admitted. "I simply didn't want him to threat you like that Yao-Yao…"

Yao looked at Ivan directly in his eyes. Deep inside, he definitely felt touched by what Ivan was telling him, but he once again decided to ignore this feeling.

"W-what are you talking about aru? Do I need to remind you that you also acted very perversely when you were around me sometimes..."Yao pointed out with a small glare, trying to hide that he was actually affected by the Russian's caring words.

"What?! But it's not the same thing! I didn't want to slee…" Ivan rapidly stopped in mid-sentence before saying the rest… he was about to say that he didn't want to sleep with Yao…but that would honestly have been a lie. Of course, he would have really liked _that_, but what he truly wanted to say was that he would never force Yao to do it…

"I mean… It was different because that wasn't the reason why I was looking at you like that..."Ivan finally said.

"So what was the reason you looked at me perversely aru?"

"…I always really liked you, da! But I never would want to _force_ you to do things… like that…"Ivan announced.

And at this point, Yao felt his cheeks burning. He looked away embarrassed, hoping that Ivan wouldn't see it.

Now that he thought about it, Ivan and he didn't even really started to go officially on a date yet, but there they were talking about _this kind of stuff _with Ivan. However, in the end, he had to admit that if Ivan would have had such plans, he would have already forced him to do something. Even during the night when the Russian stayed and slept with him in his bed, Ivan could have taken advantage of him if that was his true intentions, but he never did…

Yao always knew that Ivan wouldn't do that; he trusted Ivan even without realising it. Although, hearing him promising it from his own words was something else…something more reassuring perhaps? Anyway, something that Yao thought was truly comforting.

"Of course, if Yao isn't against it, neither am I da? I would never say no." Ivan added with a soft blush, hoping that he made things clear! Little did he knew, he made things a little too much _clear _in Yao's opinion….this sentence only brought a new level of awkwardness to the situation…

"Aiya!" Yao automatically snapped, completely embarrassed. He now absolutely wanted to change this subject; it was too early for them to talk about it! Especially, since he wasn't sure of how to handle his feelings toward Ivan anymore.

"You know what we should do Ivan?" Yao finally asked, after some seconds of silence. The Russian only looked at Yao interestingly, wondering what the Chinese had in mind.

"We should finish whatever you have to do in detention, so that we can get out of there and spend the evening like we promised aru." The latter concluded.

"Oh, our date!" Ivan said, feeling awful to have forgotten about it. "I almost forgot about it …is it too late?" he added with a sad tone.

"No, I don't think so aru…" Yao responded taking a broom and starting to sweep the floor. "You have to clean the entire class, right?" The Chinese questioned, if he remembered correctly, this was the typical detention in the school.

"Yes, but I also have the other class to clean after that. It would be too late." Ivan sighed.

"Of course not! If we work together, we will finish it in no time aru! The sooner we start, the sooner we can get out of here aru." The Chinese reassured with a smile.

"Aww thanks Yao-Yao." Ivan felt touched to see that Yao was willing to help him. Definitely, there was no one else who would do that for him. He felt so blessed to have Yao by his side.

"Oh, by the way, I want to give you my cellphone number aru." The Chinese abruptly said, taking a small note.

"Oh really?!" Ivan expressed with such a cheerful tone. Yao wanted to give him his cellphone number! That's so great! With this he could always be in contact with Yao in some way!

"Yes, so that next time you are in trouble, you can text me and tell me if you are going to be late or not." The Chinese mentioned with a slight frown.

"Haaa." Ivan chimed happily, understanding now what Yao meant. Not that he cared about the reason; he had Yao's number! He could text or call him anytime! The Russian stood there looking at the marvelous small piece of paper that Yao wrote his number on with a big smile; it felt like it was almost unbelievable!

"Hurry up Ivan! Or else we will never leave aru!" Yao told him, seeing that the blond was still looking at the paper.

"Da!"

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><p><em><strong>This chapter was so long to write mainly because I worked on it too much x,D I hope it was okay in the end. There was still some parts that I wasn't sure off.<strong>_

_**Also, if you guys have an idea of what Ivan can offer to Yao for his birthday? If you guys have any suggestions, please tell me because I don't have a clue of what he could give to Yao xD The gift will appear at the end of the fic. It's close, but there is still a long way to go(mostly because I am really slow to write and stuff xD).**_


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